Tech News March 2005

13 PSU Roundup
Overclockers Online :: Thursday, March 31, 2005

We used Prime95 as the final, most sensitive test. This is actually part of a distributed computing project to search for very large prime numbers. However, it’s grown to be widely regarded as one of the most sensitive stability-testing tools available. In recognition of this usage, the authors have included a “Torture Test” mode which runs intensive numerical calculations and compares the calculated result with known correct results. If a difference is found, the program aborts and informs you of the error.

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Flexiglow Keyboard & Gaming Mouse @ Viperlair
ViperLair :: Thursday, March 31, 2005
“The Flexiglow xRaider Gaming Mouse and xRaider Keyboard are both good components although the obvious star of the show here is the Gaming Mouse. In the looks department it is pretty good, although I do think that perhaps the rear cycling LED should have a switch of some kind to dictate a singular colour or the cycling of the colour; it can get a bit tiresome/distracting to the eyes now and then. That said, there is a good chance you will have the palm of your hand covering it anyway.”

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Editorial: The Other DTV
Designtechnica :: Thursday, March 31, 2005
“Maybe you already know this—but a lot of folks getting their first exposure to new video display technologies at Best Buy don’t—digital television and HDTV are not the same thing. The great unwashed who make that assumption probably also see DTV as some kind of technocratic plot to part them from their hard-earned dollars for something only golden-eyed elitists could appreciate. (Am I being needlessly polemical? Feel free to post and skewer me back.)

This misassumption makes the subject of SDTV, or standard-definition television, all the harder to approach. After all, as a home theater technology critic, I spend a large proportion of my time trying to convince the public that HDTV, or high-definition television, is worth the investment. But I also have a conflicting urge to defend the underdog. OK, so SDTV doesn’t provide as much resolution (defined as sharpness and detail) as HDTV. But it’s still a form of DTV, and therefore not to be underestimated.

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News Flash – Klassy Kloss Radio : The Tivoli Model One Table Radio
Futurelooks :: Thursday, March 31, 2005
“It doesn’t get more analog than this! This blast from the past takes old world craftmanship with some new world technologies to really hot rod the traditional radio. A perfect addition to any overly “wired” home.”

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ABS Ultimate E2 Media Center PC Preview @ CoolTechZone
CoolTechZone :: Thursday, March 31, 2005

“ABS Computer Technologies, a popular custom PC builder, has recently announced its Ultimate E2 Media Center PC that is solely targeted at those with a desire to have a powerful multimedia PC. This particular multimedia system supports an Intel Pentium 4 microprocessor based on the latest Socket 775 at 3.0GHz clock speed. This is a default processor of choice, but for a higher price it could be upgraded to a faster one.”

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Soltek SL-K890Pro-939 Motherboard Review
PCStats :: Thursday, March 31, 2005
“With fiscal matters in mind, PCStats will be testing out a mainstream Athlon64 (socket 939) motherboard based on the VIA K8T890 chipset, with support for just one PCI Express x16 videocard. If that sounds enticing, bear in mind that the Soltek SL-K890Pro-939 motherboard retails for just $157 CDN ($127 US). That’s about $75-100 less than the average SLI board, but still includes a lot of PCI Express goodness! The SL-K890Pro-939 motherboard supports Socket 939 AMD Athlon64/FX processors, and can be packed with up to 4GB of PC3200 DDR RAM. The board supports a single PCI Express x16 videocard as well as three PCI Express x1 devices. Lastly there are two 32-bit PCI slots for your future upgrading needs.”

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HEXUS.review – GeCube’s Radeon X850 XT Uniwise
Hexus :: Thursday, March 31, 2005
For the performance, it’s hard to argue with the £370 asking price, in the face of what you get for the same money invested in NVIDIA, right now. It’s close to X850 XT PE money, but then again, it is an XT PE in all but name. That it ships with an inspired cooler, one that brings back the essence of the initial X800 XT PE design, is all the better. I also get the dual DVI ports and VIVO ability I crave, for good measure.

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Review: Altec Lansing InMotion IM3 Portable Audio @ Tech-Mods.net
Tech-Mods.net :: Thursday, March 31, 2005

“Personal music players have been around for some time now; we have seen many different sizes and styles over the years. From the once great cassette tape, right down to the MP3 players we are used to today. As portable and personal these units have been designed, there are times we would like to share the music we carry with us. Today we will be looking at a portable audio station; designed mainly for the well known I-Pod but yet flexible to be used with near any other portable device you may have. Let’s see if this paperback sized unit can fill a small library when you’re in the sharing mood? ”

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PimpRig Review // Sunbeam Chameleon
PimpRig :: Thursday, March 31, 2005
“Now I am sure you noticed the 3 separate knobs on the bay controller, under which are labeled R, G, and B. Can you guess what this means boys and girls? (Sorry, my nephew has been watching old tapes of Mr. Rogers this weekend and it’s kinda wearing off on me.) Yep, you guessed right…. these knobs allow you to change value settings for each color of the visible spectrum.”

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Corsair COOL water cooling kit review @ Madshrimps
Madshrimps :: Thursday, March 31, 2005
“Corsair first dipped their toes into the reflective pools of water cooling back in 2003. Their product, aptly named Hydrocool was a self-contained “black box” which housed a pump, radiator/fan, reservoir, and electronics, including LED temp display. Corsair has recently returned to the CADCAM drawing board. This time they´ve eschewed the external box design, opting instead for an integrated system. Their new system given the moniker COOL is a partially pre-assembled affair and should provide the entry-level user, as well as those more familiar with H20 systems, a cooling alternative superior to air.”

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Workstation Graphics Card Comparison Guide Rev 3.1 Posted!
Tech ARP :: Thursday, March 31, 2005

“These days, there are so many workstation graphics card models that it has become quite impossible to keep up with the different configurations. Therefore, we decided to compile this comprehensive guide to over 60 workstation graphics cards.

We hope this comparison will provide an easy reference for those who are interested in comparing the specifications of the various workstation graphics cards in the market as well as those already obsolescent or obsolete. We will keep this guide updated regularly so do check back for the latest updates!

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HEXUS.news – MSN P4N Diamond – Digitally Switched SLI
Hexus :: Thursday, March 31, 2005
Since SLI’s rebirth a few months ago, nForce 4 SLI chipset users have been burdened with the task of inverting a daughterboard or setting a heap of jumpers to reconfigure the lane setup of their PEG slots. However, that is now changing. Motherboard manufacturers are starting to create digital switches for SLI, making life that little bit easier for the enthusiast. Here we have the first box shot of MSI’s P4N Diamond motherboard, which is an nForce 4 for Intel based board, in fact the first P4 SLI board with a digital SLI switch.

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Belkin Dual-Band Wireless A+G Networking @ TheTechLounge
The Tech Lounge :: Thursday, March 31, 2005

“The alphabet soup of wireless has not gotten any less complicated since the first 802.11b product shipped so many years ago. Gone are the 1-2 Mbps speeds (if you can call them that) of the past. Now with the 802.11g standard, sharing files and just abusing the network is far easier. This expansion of wireless has also yielded consequences. The unlicensed 2.4 GHz spectrum has become increasingly overcrowded. Everything from wireless networks to cordless phones sits in this range. Even the lowly microwave can wreak havoc on some poor unsuspecting wireless signal.

Does this mean all is lost? That we will be subjected to just deal with it? No! Actually, by going back a few years to the 802.11a standard, we can once again bring harmony to the wireless spectrum. The 802.11a standard operates in the 5GHz range which does not see the interference found at 2.4GHz. What 802.11a lacks is coverage area. Belkin has decided to combine the 802.11g standard with that of 802.11a. What they claim this does is enable the user to take advantage of the positive characteristics of both channels while minimizing their downsides. Today I have in front of me Belkin’s Wireless A+G Router, PCI card, and PCMCIA notebook adapter. I shall do my best to see if this converged product is a worthy competitor to the traditional G setup, or just a sloppy patch job.”

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Kingwin Mini Shuttle HDD Enclosure @ Systemcooling
SystemCooling :: Thursday, March 31, 2005

With all the upgrading I’ve been doing lately, I have collected several older IDE hard drives that haven’t been used for a while. So for a solution to the problem and to put the drives back into service, in comes the external hard drive enclosure. Not only do external enclosures give you more storage space, they also make it extremely easy to transport large amounts of date to use on other systems as the need arises. For me, they are used when I get called to a friend or family member’s house to repair their computer due to a spy ware of virus problem. Anyway, enough of the small talk – let’s take a look at the Kingwin 3.5″ EIDE HDD USB enclosure.

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Dual Layer DVD Shootout – ASUS vs. Gigabyte 16x Recorders
TweakTown :: Thursday, March 31, 2005
“Today we step aside from the usual motherboard or processor review and take a look at two of the latest DVD burners to emerge from two large Taiwanese companies, ASUS and Gigabyte. Both drives support DVD burning at 16x and both support Dual Layer burning. If you’re on the market for a new DVD burner, one of these might be what you’re looking for.”

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Patriot PDC1G3200+XBLK 1GB DC Kit @ InsaneTek
InsaneTek :: Thursday, March 31, 2005

“As the age of Samsung TCCD memory chips come close to an end, companies are using what’s left in their stock to produce low latency DDR ram. PDP Systems is one of the lesser known memory companies that followed the trend of TCCD. It’s a surprise to hear that their company has been around since 1985. Although in existence for such a long time, they have provided memory for a variety of components, ranging from Flash memory devices to ATI graphics cards. Only recently has PDP Systems decided to join the highly competitive memory market with the name Patriot.”

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Neoseeker Athlon 64 Overclocking Study
Neoseeker :: Thursday, March 31, 2005
“Raising the LDT bus speed and dropping the multiplier so as to maintain a close-to-stock clock speed on the CPU nearly nothing for overall system performance. In synthetic CPU tests, CPU performance actually dropped a tiny bit, and memory bandwidth performance went up a non-impressive 3.2%. LDT and memory bus speeds aren’t all that they’re cracked up to be if your CPU is not there to eat up the extra headroom given.”

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Logisys Meshed 500W PSU Review @ Mikhailtech
Mikhailtech :: Sunday, March 27, 2005

“The sticker on the underside states 28A on the 3.3V line, 38A on the 5V line, and 17A on the 12V line. While the first two are sufficient, 17A on the 12V rail isn’t enough, considering other quality 300-400W models can provide as much as 30A. Even more interesting are the combined ratings. You’ll notice there’s a 200W power limit on the 3.3V + 5V rails. Furthermore, there’s a 350W total power rating for all three rails, with the “max output” capped at 500W. In other words, you’re not getting a 500W model. You’re getting a 350W model that’s theoretically capable of a 500W maximum output. The caveat here is that because the total power is written to be 350W, you can’t expect to get sustained, stable power delivery beyond that. Fortunately for most people, even 300 watts is more than enough.”

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Thermaltake Schooner VGA Cooler Review @ techPowerUp!
techPowerUp! :: Sunday, March 27, 2005
“Thermaltake has been creative – the Schooner is the first VGA cooler which uses a heatpipe to transport heat to the outside of the case where it is dissipated. The Thermaltake Schooner is the best completely passive cooler we tested so far.”

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ASUS W3, W5 & V6 Sonoma Notebook Series Launch @ Adrian’s Rojak Pot
Tech ARP :: Sunday, March 27, 2005
“Recently, Team ARP was invited to the launch of the new ASUS W3, W5 & V6 Sonoma notebook series. With great pleasure, we accepted the invitation to the launch at Modestos at Mont Kiara.

Armed with three Nikon D70s, we were there to capture every aspect of the launch as well as the new notebooks (including the two delectable models!). Check out our special report!”

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SilverStone Temjin TJ05S-TW Case Review @ InsaneTek
InsaneTek :: Sunday, March 27, 2005
“We recently reviewed the SilverStone TJ05B case, which unfortunately had some design problems. SilverStone has made revisions since then and let us revisit the case. This time they sent a TJ05S-TW, which is silver and comes with a window and thermal controller.”

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Thermaltake Hardcano 13 Review @ GruntvillE
GruntvillE :: Sunday, March 27, 2005

“The installation of the Hardcano13 went well, considering the poor quality of the instruction booklet. There was at least one occasion where the booklet said to do something, but it didn’t say how to do it (hooking up the USB inside the unit, specifically). For the USB problem, there wasn’t a diagram for the connection inside the Hardcano13. Luckily, there was a picture in the FAQ at the end of the book (the FAQ question was unrelated to my problem), which showed the correct orientation of the connectors.”

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Scythe FCS-50 HSF Review @ ap0calypse
ap0calypse :: Sunday, March 27, 2005

“In a couple of my past reviews I have had the chance to try out some of Scythe’s processor coolers, the Kama and Kamakaze2. Both of these coolers were pretty basic in the way of design, and performed well. When Scythe asked me to take a look at their FCS-50 cooler equipped with a new “Heatlane” technology, I readily accepted in hopes this new design would exceed the performance of the others. As you will read, I was not disappointed.”

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Corsair XMS Xpert PC-3200 Review @ PC Modding Malaysia
PC Modding Malaysia :: Sunday, March 27, 2005

“Corsair has done it again with their XMS Xpert series. The LED displays not only serves as a bling factor in your rig but it is also useful for overclockers and tweakers. The Xpert provided crucial information such as frequency, volts and temperatures which makes overclocking successful. The Memory Dashboard is yet another excellent product from Corsair which gives users full control over their Xpert. Adding custom text and tweaking the LED display was fun but you might get bored of it after some time. The Xpert is meant to be a show stopper and it packs a bag of punch too!”

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Foxconn WinFast NF4K8MC nForce4 Mainboard Review @ Overclocker Cafe
Overclocker Café :: Sunday, March 27, 2005
“Given it’s size, with stock settings, the Foxconn NF4K8MC motherboard could be labeled as the little engine that could. With the exception of the CPU Multimedia benchmarks, it outclassed its Intel based counterpart. The board doesn’t have all the bells and whistles such as SLI, dual LAN, and only two DIMM slots but it does have everything else the average computer user would need or want in a system.”

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A.C. Ryan RyanPower2 450W PSU Review @ Madshrimps
Madshrimps :: Sunday, March 27, 2005
“The RyanPower2 is a step in the right direction for A.C.Ryan, it’s very silent, provides enough juice to keep your system stable and features a handy (slightly flawed) cabling system. If they can work out the small kinks in the cable we’d recommend it straight away, but as it stands we have some reservations about the CableFREE quality and implementation.”

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Tt Kandalf Case Review @ Overclocker Cafe
Overclocker Café :: Sunday, March 27, 2005

“The top most bay is filled with a slide in tray that has your power and reset buttons as well as power and HDD activity lamps. The small screened area can be pushed out to accept a floppy drive or left in place so you can put a HDD there. The screen mesh is reasonable tight but there is no filter behind it. This is noteworthy only because each of the other bay cover screens you see have a removable filter placed immediately behind it. I do so love a clean machine. This tray can be removed and placed in any one of the other ten bay positions.”

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Kingwin Mini Shuttle Drive Enclosure @ Overclocker Cafe’
Overclocker Café :: Saturday, March 26, 2005

“Kingwin’s Mini Shuttle’s good looks grow out of their simplicity. Two thin gauge (1mm thick) black aluminum plates form the top and bottom plates with the sides being silver. Almost like an Oreo cookie for a robot. The thin gauge pays off in the form of weight. Coming in at an observed 309 gms, the Mini Shuttle weights less than most aftermarket heatsinks.”

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Thermaltake Sonic Tower @ InsaneTek
InsaneTek :: Saturday, March 26, 2005

“A fanless CPU cooler doesn’t always mean high temperatures. Thermaltake’s fanless Sonic Tower provides great performance at 0 dBA.”

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HEXUS.review – Gigabyte 8IPE775-G ‘Springdale’ Motherboard
Hexus :: Saturday, March 26, 2005
Gigabyte has tried to create a motherboard that takes the forward-thinking approach of Socket-T and marries it with established Springdale technology. The end result is a hybrid board, unimaginatively named 8IPE775-G, that will last as long as Socket-T is around. It’s also priced at a wallet-friendly £60 and makes use of regular DDR1 RAM and AGP-powered graphics cards, thus making the jump to LGA775 a palatable one for most.

AquaXtreme 50Z-DC12 Water-Cooling Pump @ SystemCooling
SystemCooling :: Saturday, March 26, 2005

“Just a few short years ago, many of us in the PC water-cooling community wished for a suitable pump that could operate on 12 VDC. At the time, most of the popular pond pumps were powered from the AC mains and were relatively large in size. How times have changed! Now in 2005 we have at least a half dozen different DC pumps to choose from. The AquaXtreme 50Z-DC12 is a compact 12 VDC pump that delivers much higher head pressure and potentially more flow than many of the larger AC pond pumps. Gone are the days of having to install pump relays and route an additional AC line cord inside the PC enclosure”

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Guide: running Samsung TCCD at DDR600+ on DFI nForce4 @ Madshrimps
Madshrimps :: Saturday, March 26, 2005
Quote: “Getting your brand new A64 S939 to overclock to high DDR600 speeds is not an easy feat. Even with high quality memory you still need a lot of tweaks to get everything running stable. In this guide we show how to reach stability at DDR600 speeds on the nForce4 board from DFI”

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Seasonic S12 430W PSU Review @ Mikhailtech
Mikhailtech :: Saturday, March 26, 2005

“From a design standpoint, the main box does pretty much everything right: there’s a 120mm slow spinning, low noise intake fan, meaning good airflow (and cooling) while being almost silent. As mentioned earlier it’s also load controlled (rather than temperature controlled), but the speed increase is exponential rather than linear. That is, it spins at the same rate in a certain load range (up to 40% according to their diagram) before spinning up to its maximum speed at 100% load. According to Seasonic it can also adapt to ambient temperature, so the higher the ambient temperature the faster it’ll spin at full load (though it still spins at the same rate up to 40% load regardless of ambient). There are a few ventilation holes in the front and right side, but most of the airflow goes from the fan and out the back. The rear uses a honeycomb mesh, the most air-efficient design possible (circular and grid meshes are both structurally weaker and don’t let as much air through). Here you’ll also find the AC plug and a power switch. No voltage selector is present and none is needed because the active PFC takes care of that.”

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Corsair Xpert TWINXP1024-3200XL DDR Memory
PCStats :: Saturday, March 26, 2005
“Introducing the Corsair XMS Xpert TWINXP1024-3200XP dual-channel DDR kit. As you can see, it makes quite a first impression. this dual-channel, PC3200 pair of 512MB DDR DIMMs come with a pair of programmable digital displays which can be attached to the top of each module. These LED displays work with the included ‘Memory Dashboard’ software, allowing your memory to display several monitoring characteristics or even a custom scrolling message!”

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Tek-Chain TC-12CAS-BL120mm adjustable LED fan @ ModdersHQ.net
ModdersHQ.net :: Saturday, March 26, 2005

“Tek-Chain (manufactured by Coolergiant) came up with a 120mm fan that can tickle anyone’s fancy. It boasts a maximum of 66 CFM at a very reasonable 33 dBA. Did I mention that it’s adjustable down to 19.2 dBA by way of the included speed controller? That’s lower dBA output then the ticking of an average watch. For those looking for a nice lighting solution, the Tek-Chain has 4 blue LEDs that, believe it or not, can be turned OFF!!! Now that I have your attention, lets take a closer look at the Tek-Chain 120mm adjustable LED fan.”

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Review: Razotech Blaze Mid Tower ATX Case Review @ Tech-Mods.net
Tech-Mods.net :: Saturday, March 26, 2005

“Not long ago computer cases were presented in a plain beige box; now with case manufacturers having to step it up a notch or three, we have many options. The looks from one case to another can vary, and that is what we like to see. Today we are going to put a torch up beside the New Razotech’s Blaze Mid Tower ATX Case to see if it has the form and function to keep the flame burning?”

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Thermaltake’s K450 Heatsink @ TechTastic.ca
TechTastic :: Saturday, March 26, 2005

Today we take a look at Thermaltake’s K450 which is part of a new line of heat sinks developed by their advance engineering team ITBU. The K450 is design to work effectively with Opteron and Athlon 64 processors, and features a high powered fan and heat pipe technology.

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AMD Dual-Core Opteron as soon as Q2 05! @ AMDboard
AMDboard :: Saturday, March 26, 2005
“The hottest processor issue is undoubtedly dual-core and both AMD and Intel are rushing to be first to cross the finishing line. Made with dual-core in mind, AMD Opteron looks to be ahead of schedule and AMDboard.com, the AMD specialist, has the latest AMD Opteron roadmap to prove it. According to the confidential document, AMD Opteron 2XX/8XX at 95W should hit the shelves as soon as Q2 2005. But that’s not all! On the low-power side, AMD Opteron 2XX/8XX HE at 55W should see the light in Q3 05 while the 30W, rated EE, is planned for Q4 05. If you consider the 102W difference with a Intel Xeon then you might understand what kind of huge pressure Intel is now enduring…”

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Logisys One for All VGA Cooler @ OCIA
OCIA :: Saturday, March 26, 2005

“”Our candidate for this cooler; my newly acquired XFX 6800 Ultra. At first glance the cooler on this card looks to be quite sufficient, even compared to the Logisys VGA cooler, but lets see…”

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Review: XTrac Hybrid Mousepad @ GideonTech.com
GideonTech :: Saturday, March 26, 2005
“A while back, I took a look at the RipperXL mouse pad from XTrac. I was very impressed with it and it became my mouse pad of choice. Now XTrac has sent over their new Hybrid mouse pad. The Hybrid combines characteristics from both cloth and plastic mouse pads into one nice package.”

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DFI UT LP nF4 Ultra-D motherboard review @ XtremeResources
Xtreme Resources :: Saturday, March 26, 2005

“The nF4 SLI-DR is based o­n the nVidia nForce4 SLI chipset, while the nF4 Ultra-D is based on the nForce4 Ultra chipset. Both of these motherboards include 2 PCI Express X16 slots and they use the same BIOS. The main difference is that the Ultra-D doesn’t come with the 4 SATA ports that are provided by the Silicon Image 3114 on the fully featured nF4 SLI-DR board. Many motherboard manufacturers represent themselves to the enthusiast computing community and market their products as “overclocker” friendly. However, the caveat with nearly all of these Tier 1 and Tier 2 motherboard manufacturers is that their overclocking options – in both hardware and software implementations – are often times piecemeal and ineffective towards overall results. The best overclocking motherboards must provide stable power, effective heat dissipation on power MOSFETS and VRM’s (voltage regulation mosfets), along with a logical layout, and a BIOS which allows the user to tweak the board parameterization’s for their own benefits.”

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Sorell SF 2000 MP3 Player Review @ The Tech Zone
The Tech Zone :: Saturday, March 26, 2005

The Sorell SF 2000 is more than just a flash based MP3 player – there is also a built in voice recorder and FM tuner. Plus the unit can double as a USB flash drive, making filing transfer quick and easy. The SF 2000 is available in? 256MB and 512MB configurations. The player is really small, just 3.1″ long by 1.2″ wide by 0.59″ thick and weighs just 1.52 oz. Power is supplied by a built in battery that will last an amazing 25 hours.

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Niro 600 Review
Designtechnica :: Saturday, March 26, 2005
“The name NIRO is almost synonymous with innovation. The company, founded by industry legend Niro Nakamichi, has been pioneering innovative one-enclosure surround-sound speaker systems for some time now. The idea might seem rather far-fetched, but my previous encounters with NIRO products have changed me into a believer of the idea. That is mainly because past NIRO products worked as advertised. NIRO, however, is not the type of company who likes to stand still in its success. Recently, the company released its new product lines, which are supposed to feature improvements over their predecessors. One of them is the NIRO 600 system reviewed here.”

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Sansun LED Keyboard Review @ Ninjalane
Ninjalane :: Saturday, March 26, 2005
Ninjalane has posted a short review covering the LED keyboard from Sansun. This keyboard has a GSM detection feature that will react whenever your GSM phone is active on the network.

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OCZ EL PC-3200 Gold DDR Memory Overview Posted!
Tech ARP :: Friday, March 25, 2005

“OCZ has just released their latest Enhanced Latency DDR modules with the launching of the new EL PC-3200 Gold memory modules! Featuring a 400MHz DDR clock speed at ultra-tight latencies of 2-2-2-5, these modules also feature OCZ’s ULN2 and EVP technologies.”

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Super White 7654-47CW Barebones Kit Review
Mikhailtech :: Friday, March 25, 2005

The inside of the case is, big surprise, nothing special. The front uses a single cage for mounting all the drives using good ‘ol screws. There’s a stamped grill with holes for an 80mm intake, but as is the problem with many cases even to this day, it’s pretty much useless since there’s no opening in front of it to take in air. Around back we have the PSU, 80mm fan, non-removable I/O shield, and the expansion slots. If you look closely you’ll notice the protrusion mentioned earlier which holds the expansion cards in place. Finally, the motherboard tray isn’t removable either. You’ll find raised mounts where typical motherboard holes can be found; for the rest you’ll need to install the somewhat awkward provided plastic stand-offs.

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Cooler Master Aquagate Mini Watercooling Kit Overview Posted!
Tech ARP :: Friday, March 25, 2005

“Cooler Master has just released their Aquagate Mini water cooling kit! Designed for easy installation and maintenance, this is small enough to fit even mini-tower and some SFF cases! Let’s take a look at it!”

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PimpRig Review // DragonModz.net Dragonware (Original modding accessories)
PimpRig :: Thursday, March 24, 2005
“There is a very old saying that goes, “God is in the details”. The “details” is what Dragonware is all about. It’s often the little touches that can help move a project case over the edge of mediocrity and into the stately realm of a PimpRig-dom. Dragonware may be just the ticket to help get you there.”

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Gateway M210XL Review
Designtechnica :: Thursday, March 24, 2005
“The M210 series of laptops from Gateway is the company’s new line of lightweight laptop computers and competes directly with Sony’s S series, Dell’s new 700M, and a few of Panasonic’s more stylish Toughbook laptops among other brands. Weighing in at 5.29lbs the M210 is Gateway’s lightest laptop currently available and features a wide-screen display and some pretty powerful hardware under the hood. When it comes to styling, Gateway has pretty much been hit or miss but we think the new M210 has the stuff to compete with the likes of Sony, but ultimately you will have to decide on that. There are three models available in the M210 product line. The M210S which starts at $749.99, the M210X which starts at $999.99 and the ultra-loaded M210XL which is what we are reviewing today.”

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Corepad Magna Review @ PCModdingMy
PC Modding Malaysia :: Thursday, March 24, 2005

“Considering if you have a gaming system worth up to $3000 and equipped with a lethal gaming mouse, the Corepad Magna will definitely be worth buying. Getting plenty of mousing surface on a high quality mouse pad gave me the freedom to draw, design, surf and frag my way to satisfaction. Having a glassed mouse pad is good but having a scratch proof mouse pad is something great. Backed with an extremely hardwearing scratch proof surface and with a trusty 3 years warranty, the Corepad Magna is the best mouse pad that money can buy!”

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XG X-Case reviewed @ hi-techreviews.com
Hi-Techreviews :: Thursday, March 24, 2005

Today we are looking at the X-Case from XG (Xtreme Gamers) a division of MGE, the case offer the the potential buyer tool-free installation of all parts, a unique 5-bay flip-down drive bay covers, and perhaps one of the best light shows available anywhere except of the 4th of July. The case is truly worth checking out if you’re in the market for case that will set yours apart from the crowd.

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TTGI 4Fan Plug-N 550W Modular PSU
SystemCooling :: Thursday, March 24, 2005

“Modular power supplies have become more and more popular recently. As their popularity has increased more and more manufacturers have started to offer their own modular power supplies. Today we will be taking a look at one of the four modular power supplies offered by TTGI, the 4 Fan Plug-N Power.”

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AeroCool AeroEngine Jr Case review @ XtremeResources
Xtreme Resources :: Thursday, March 24, 2005

“Not a decade ago, most computer systems looked exactly the same. Beige, simple looking cases and monitors were norm all over the place. However with the dramatic rate the computer industry is progressing today, and with most modern households having at least o­ne PC available has created many different needs. The beige, dull looking cases had to go since aesthetics matter a lot to most people. Recently, cases began to change at a rapid rate, with most companies offering modern designs and colors to match every mood and pocketbook. Today, I have a futuristic case to check out, which looks more like an airplane’s engine than a computer case, the AeroEngine Jr. The AeroEngine Jr is made by AeroCool, which is a relatively new company in the computer industry, established during 2002 in the USA. They have their own R&D and manufacturing ability, so they are able to grow fast and quickly in the industry. Let us see if the AeroEngine Jr case can really take off.”

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Pentium M on your Socket 478 platform: Part 2 @ Legit Reviews
Legit Reviews :: Thursday, March 24, 2005
Included with the CT-479 are the installation guide, a heatsink/fan, one 4-pin power cable, and the socket adapter. The only “tool” needed for this kit is a flat head screw driver to secure the Pentium M processor in the socket just like what is done on a notebook computer.

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Review: SimpleTech Deluxe external 160 gig harddrive @ Tech-Mods.net
Tech-Mods.net :: Thursday, March 24, 2005

“The SimpleTech Deluxe external STI-U2F36/160 160 gig harddrive is part of their line of ultra fast storage devices. For over a decade SimpleTech has been providing products ranging from both system memory and portable storage to network storage. Their goal is to provide the highest quality standards in their products for their customers. .”

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Ethical Considerations of RFID @ The Tech Zone
The Tech Zone :: Thursday, March 24, 2005
Proponents hail RFID as the next natural step in our technological evolution. Opponents forewarn of unprecedented privacy invasion and social control. Which is it? That’s a bit like asking if Christopher Columbus was an intrepid visionary or a ruthless imperialist. It depends on your perspective. One thing is clear: As RFID extends its roots into common culture we each bear responsibility for tending its growth.

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Review: Lite-on 16x Black Dual Layer DVD burner @ Tech-Mods.net
Tech-Mods.net :: Thursday, March 24, 2005

“LiteOn was established in 1975 and began producing LED displays and over the past 30 years has become a leader in electronics world wide with quality, integrity, and innovation being key aspects of their buisness. Today we are looking at LiteOn’s SOHW1673S Black Dual Layer DVD burner in black which supports DL 4X writing speed. I must admit the first unit sent to me had an issue with invalid format errors on both CD’s and DVD’s but their tech support quickly sent me a replacement that works flawlessly!.”

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How long before Apple’s OS X becomes Microsoft Windows? @ CoolTechZone
CoolTechZone :: Thursday, March 24, 2005

“Microsoft Windows has been and always will be the target for malicious code writers (hackers) due to its popularity in the market. After all, Windows accounts for as many as 90 percent of the machines globally, which makes it an obvious target for hackers. There has been an abundance of worms and viruses (among other attack schemes) that sometimes makes Windows a miserable platform.”

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Leadtek WinFast PCIe PX6200TD Overclocking test @ Madshrimps
Madshrimps :: Wednesday, March 23, 2005
”

Looking for a PCIe budget card which can potentially pack a hefty punch? Leadtek PX6200TD might just have what it takes. In this overclocking test we see how far we can push the card with stock cooling.

”

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ATP 1GB & 2GB SD Flash Memory Card Review @ The Tech Zone
The Tech Zone :: Wednesday, March 23, 2005

”

With so many flash makers out there, how does one separate themselves from the pack? One way to do it is to call me up and say “Our SD cards offers 60X performance and are nearly indestructible. You can drown in water and it will still work!” Not only did I dunk the ATP SD card into a bottle of water, but I froze it overnight then put it in boiling water the next day. And guess what? It still works!!

”

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Abit Fatal1ty AN8 @ InsaneTek
InsaneTek :: Wednesday, March 23, 2005

”

Abit’s name has been synonymous with overclocking since the days of the KT7. It’s no surprise that they would release a motherboard dedicated to overclocking. Teaming up with professional gamer Johnathan Wendel, Abit dedicated themselves to creating the best gaming motherboard available. The goal was to eliminate all the unnecessary BIOS options and extras that gamers do not use and create the best overclocking board to provide the cutting edge performance.

”

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AeroCool Cool Panel Review @ GruntvillE.com
GruntvillE :: Wednesday, March 23, 2005

”

The color matches an aluminum case, like the Lian-Li, very well. There are a ton of ports on the front of the Coolpanel. Ports, ports and more ports for easy access. If you click on the thumbnail to see the larger photo, you can see that AeroCool clearly labels each port on the Coolpanel. Listed in some sort of order: Power LED, Access LED, USBx2, Multi-slot card reader (Compact Flash I/II, Sony Memory Stick, Memory stick Duo, Memory Stick Pro, Memory Stick Duo Pro, Smart Media, SD, and Multimedia Card), Firewire, SATAx2, Line In, Line Out, Mic, Video, LCD, LCD settings, and adjustment knobs.

”

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BenQ FP71G+ 8ms LCD Panel Review @ Neoseeker
Neoseeker :: Wednesday, March 23, 2005
”

Unreal Tournament 2004 was also picked as a test candidate as it is one of those twitchy games where there is a lot of quick movement. Blurring was not an issue during some deathmatch sessions. Textures and movement felt quite crisp and during fast turns it did not feel like the FP71G+ was struggling to keep up. On previous 25ms screens and even on the 172x, we felt that UT tended to bring out a very noticeable amount of blurring.

”

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Thermaltake Silent Purepower 680W PSU @ Legit Reviews
Legit Reviews :: Wednesday, March 23, 2005
”

The 3.3V and 12V rails were just slightly under specifications, the 12V feeding the CPU was just 4/10th’s of a volt under. This is well within an acceptable range according to…

”

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Xtrac Hybrid Mouse Pad @ HardwareHounds.com
HardwareHounds :: Wednesday, March 23, 2005

”

We recently received a brand new mousepad from Xtrac. I know, mouse pads are not normally something to get really excited about but the HYBRID is a definite exception to the rule.

”

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Sunbeam 20 in 1 Superior Panel Review @ Madshrimps
Madshrimps :: Tuesday, March 22, 2005
”

Want to access everything from an arm´s reach without bumping year head trying to reach the rear panel? Two many flash memory cards and not enough card readers? Sunbeam comes to the rescue once again.

”

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Vantec UV Reactive Gear @ Viperlair
ViperLair :: Tuesday, March 22, 2005
”

To be perfectly honest, the fact that the EZ-Grip Molex connectors look good under UV light should be secondary to the fact that they do exactly what they say on the tin; they make removing your Molex plugs very easy and quick. I like that we get a tool included to remove your old plugs as it makes the entire process quicker all round.

”

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Sparkle GeForce 6600 & 6600GT Review @ PCModdingMy
PC Modding Malaysia :: Tuesday, March 22, 2005

”

Basically, the Sparkle Geforce 6600GT has better performance in terms of performance vs.

value. This is because Sparkle Geforce 6600GT is only priced about USD$30 more than the

Sparkle Geforce 6600. For that additional price, you’ll get a much better performance

and the option to SLi. However if you don’t plan to spend much, then the Sparkle Geforce

6600 should fit you well and you can overclock it to perform almost as good as the

Sparkle Geforce 6600GT.

”

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Open-Source Software Alternatives to Windows Programs @ CoolTechZone
CoolTechZone :: Tuesday, March 22, 2005

”

In this article, we will focus on all the little programs that you are used to using in Windows, and their equivalents in Linux. People who have switched over often complain that they can’t find the proper movie player, or MP3 player that they like to use. Sometimes, this is so irritating that they switch right back, just because they couldn’t watch their favorite movies, or listen to their favorite songs. What they do not know is that there are many alternatives available in Linux. Some of the programs are so much better than their Windows counterparts that you may wonder why you didn’t switch before.

”

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ECS’s 915-A Mainboard @ HEXUS
Hexus :: Tuesday, March 22, 2005
”

Use of the Intel i915GV core logic is what really defines the 915-A’s feature set. At first glance, it’s hard to spot the difference between 915G and 915GV. 915GV doesn’t support a 16 lane PCI Express bundle for routing to a PEG16X electrical slot, for graphics. With that electrical slot physically present on the 915-A, you’ll notice the lanes routed to the slot, of which there are only two, are provided by the ICH6 I/O southbridge processor rather than the 915GV northbridge.

It also supports an AGP 4X/8X electrical slot, conjured up by similar black majiks (the bonding of two PCI hosts from the ICH6), so for the CPU to communicate with any discrete graphics card, be they in the faux-AGP slot or the PEG16X slot with only 2 lanes routed to it, the communication has to go via the 266MiB/sec Intel Hub link between i915GV and ICH6, since everything discrete graphics wise is connected to the ICH6. ”

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X-Woofer 3D Vibro Woofer Speaker Review @ MODTHEBOX.COM
MODTHEBOX! :: Tuesday, March 22, 2005

”

The overall design of the X-Woofer breaks away from traditional desktop speakers and has been engineered to be a worn on your shoulders without the need to install rear speakers to enjoy 3D sound. The composition of the X-Woofer consists of a two piece silver coloured plastic housing with gold highlights that measure approximately 285mm X 235mm X 14mm. The X Woofer is very light weight at 1.3kg and can be tucked away into back pack for easy transport. ”

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Corsair Xpert TwinXP1024-3200XL 1GB DC Kit @ InsaneTek
InsaneTek :: Tuesday, March 22, 2005

”

Who was the first to make low latency memory? Corsair. Who was the first to use heatspreaders for memory? Corsair. Who was the first to have pretty LED’s for memory? Corsair. If I was wrong about any of the information, please correct me. But if I’m right, then Corsair is the first to provide enthusiasts with flashy looks. Corsair is always on the lookout for the newest thing. They discovered the great potential in the Samsung TCCD chips and allowed enthusiasts the joy of running extremely low latencies.

”

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Pentium M on your Socket 478 platform @ Legit Reviews
Legit Reviews :: Tuesday, March 22, 2005
”

The ASUS CT-479 CPU Upgrade Kit is a newly launched solution that brings the quiet and cool performance of the Intel Pentium M Socket 479 notebook processor onto ASUS’ Socket 478 desktop motherboards. Read on and take a look and see what the future holds for Pentium M lovers.

”

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Thermaltake Kandalf Full Tower Series Case Video Review #547 @ 3dGameMan
3dgameman :: Saturday, March 19, 2005

“This product is overflowing with super features, looks fantastic & is all aluminum. There are 11 drive bays which can be organized to hold both 5.25″ & 3.5″ drives. Six internal 3.5″ drive bays allow lots of HDD storage. It’s a very large case & has plenty of room to work. There are also 2 90mm & 2 120mm fans to provide excellent case ventilation. Watch the Video to find out more…”

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CoolerMaster Dual Storm Review @ Hexus
Hexus :: Saturday, March 19, 2005
“As case fans go, Cooler Master’s Dual Storm certainly has something different to offer – The dual fan capabilities of the part give both the ability to move a lot of air and redundancy in the case of one of the fans failing. Add in to that the fancy styling and blue LED, and this may be something that will tickle the fancy of some users”

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March Value Gaming Guide @ Sharky Extreme
Sharky Extreme :: Saturday, March 19, 2005
“Today on Sharky Extreme, we’ve posted our March Value Gaming PC Buyer’s Guide, where we take $1,000 in search of the best AMD and Intel-based systems we can buy”

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Antec NeoPower480 Review @ PCModdingMy
PC Modding Malaysia :: Saturday, March 19, 2005

“Antec has done it again with their NeoPower480 power supply. The featured Advanced Cable Management System made the NeoPower480 one of the earliest modular power supplies in the industry. Keeping quite computing in mind, the NeoPower480’s advanced temperature-response system makes it one of the least noisy hardware inside your rig. Even at full load, you will find all other fans / hardwares making more noise than the NeoPower480. Not only you have an advanced and silent power supply, the NeoPower480 also doubles as your reliable partner by keeping the voltage rails exceptionally stable.”

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Repairing Your Waterchill PC Radiator @ Raptor-Mods
raptor-mods.co.uk :: Saturday, March 19, 2005

“A lot of people buy the 80mm Waterchill type radiators for their PC water cooling set-ups and a lot of them, it would seem, make a very simple mistake when installing them. That mistake, putting the mounting screws in without the spacers and puncturing the radiator core!”

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Cooler Master Aquagate Mini Review @ Madshrimps
Madshrimps :: Saturday, March 19, 2005
“Cooler Master is introducing the Aquagate Mini in both 120mm and 80mm configurations. While water cooling CPU can be tedious at times with the associations of adding water, testing for leaks, finding the right pump location dealing with reservoir and bleeding. The new Aquagate Mini might well be the “Bic” of computer water cooling.”

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Cebit Coverage Day 4 @ techPowerUp!
techPowerUp! :: Saturday, March 19, 2005
“Welcome to our Cebit Report Day 4 with news from AOpen, Foxconn, S3 and Soltek. Also in this report you will find all R520 and ATI’s SLI info we could get.”

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Editorial: Apple Discovers 2nd Finger with 2-Button Mouse @ CoolTechZone
CoolTechZone :: Saturday, March 19, 2005

“There are rumors spreading around that suggest Apple plans to reveal a two-button mouse to Macintosh users sometime soon. It’s about time Apple finally made this idea a reality and realize the importance of a two-button mouse for converting Windows users. The first problem Windows users face when switching to Macintosh is that the inherent limitations of a single-button mouse quite literally drives them insane. While numerous (excluding early Mac adopters) users have complained about this issue, Apple seemed to be holding steadfast and brutally declined to listen to anything Windows users had to say; at least that’s what many concluded from Apple’s lack of response”

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Enermax EG495P-SFMA24P 480W PSU Review @ GruntvillE
GruntvillE :: Saturday, March 19, 2005

“Well, I learned in the past few days the answers to the above questions are wrong, wrong and wrong! You see Enermax taught me a lesson of voltage stability. It is much more important than total output wattage ratings. A little glitch in the voltage output and it relates to a hiccup in your system. In turn that will result in a freeze or a crashed program. Let me assure you not all power supplies are created equal!”

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asetek WaterChill KT03A Extreme Review @ Ninjalane
Ninjalane :: Friday, March 18, 2005
“The asetek WaterChill CPU Power kit (KT03A-SL35) can be viewed in a variety of ways. The obvious and enthusiast oriented option is around overclocking. A huge radiator, 3 fans means tons of cooling and big overclocks.”

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DFI LANPARTY NF4 SLI-DR nForce4 SLI Motherboard Review @ Bjorn3D
Bjorn3D :: Friday, March 18, 2005
“DFI’s latest offerings come from the nForce4 family and were, not surprisingly, some of the most anticipated nForce4 boards to hit store shelves. Recent reviews show that DFI continues to flex its muscle in all the right ways to leave users satisfied and then some. But, it’s time for us to do our own evaluation and review of the new LANPARTY flagship board, the LANPARTY NF4 SLI-DR, one of the most feature-packed boards ever created.”

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Speeze Vulture Spin 3 Review @ HardwareHounds
HardwareHounds :: Friday, March 18, 2005
“Recently we reviewed Speezes’s Coppersnake III. A fine heatsink designed for the Pentium crowd. Today we are going to review Speeze’s VultureSpin III, the Amd equivalent. As always, first impressions count for a lot, so how the hsf looks right out of the box is important. The good news is that the VultureSpin III looks pretty impressive.”

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Portable apps for USB flash Drives @ TechTastic
TechTastic :: Friday, March 18, 2005
“Today we’ve gathered together a bunch of applications that you can use directly off your flash drive. We we’re inspired by the release of portable Firefox and portable Thunderbird which was developed by John T. Haller. Basically what he did was optimize Mozilla’s Thunderbird and Firefox to be used on a flash drive. Why would you want to do that you may ask? Well imagine if you will that you could use your applications such as your browser on any computer and still have access to your favorites/bookmarks, or your email in the case of Thunderbird.”

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Thermaltake Armor Super Tower Aluminum Chassis Review @ Techniz.co.uk
Techniz.co.uk :: Friday, March 18, 2005

“The Armor Chassis from Thermaltake is a very stylish case and available in black and silver color. Only the silver color is fully made of aluminum. The size of the Armor Chassis is a super tower case. The Armor Chassis is also design to fits Tt liquid cooling system (performance radiator with 12 cm fan) or any other specific brands of water cooling kit. The chassis is also design with the removable motherboard tray, whereas it does support the BTX with the optional BTX Upgrade Kit. Furthermore, the Armor Chassis comes with four case fans, and the top of chassis is equipped with dual USB2.0, IEEE1394 Firewire, audio & speaker ports. Beside that, the side panel is a very unique shaped of acrylic windows side panel.”

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Club 3D Radeon X800XL PCI Express @ ViperLair
ViperLair :: Friday, March 18, 2005
“Performance from the X800XL was fantastic, quite happily keeping pace with our X850XT PE in many tests, although the highest resolutions and heavy AntiAliasing/Anisotropic filtering did slow it down slightly in comparison.”

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HEXUS.review – Memory Shootout – Extremely High Performance DDR using Samsung TCCD DRAMs
Hexus :: Thursday, March 17, 2005
To sum up, if you want the coolest modules on the block and you’re feeling flush, the Corsair Xpert is in a niche of its own. Paired with Samsung’s TCCD modules, there’s a world of performance to be had from them at modest Vdimm. Otherwise, the G.Skill and OCZ both come recommended at around the £200 mark, with Corsair’s XL PRO and XL PT under that price, too.

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Corsair Flash Voyager – First Water Resistant, Rugged Flash Drive @ Everything USB
Everything USB :: Thursday, March 17, 2005
”

The Flash Voyager (512MB reviewed), encased in a rubberized case, proves to be more practical than plastic or brushed titanium. First, its elastic body can absorb any shock resulted from a drop, protecting the USB connector and the NAND memory from harms. It is also immune from any scratches due to the nature of the material. Moreover, the leak-free case ensures drive is water-resistant. That only leaves the USB connector exposed when the cap is removed. Even though most flash drives would survive a submerge, but you would need to wait for them to dry first.

”

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Thermaltake Soprano VB1000BWS review @ XtremeResources
Xtreme Resources :: Thursday, March 17, 2005

“The mid-range case market has been expanding very fast the past several years. Since cases are not made obsolete by the development of technology, constant upgrades are not necessary, so users usually research a lot before buying a case with which they will probably for many month to even years in some situations. In order to draw the users into case upgrades, companies had to draw their interest by creating something original. So, the classic beige cases are becoming extinct and designer cases have become very popular. ThermalTake is renowned for their good looking cases that they have produced over the past few years. They are into the enthusiast market and industry since 1999, which does not make them an old company but as long as the enthusiasts market is concerned they are pretty much ancient already. They started by creating cooling solutions and lately they have expanded into cases, water cooling kits, power supply units and many other items. Their Tsunami line of cases were o­ne of the most well known cases last year and now ThermalTake is releasing the Soprano, a possible successor to the Tsunami. The Soprano is considerably cheaper, but can it be a worthy opponent like the predecessor was? ”

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Zalman VF700-CU Ultra Quiet Copper VGA Cooler @ OCIA.net
OCIA :: Thursday, March 17, 2005

”

The existing heatsink on the PCI-E/AGP interface must be used. If your existing cooler integrates the GPU and PCI-E/AGP interface, you cannot use the VF700. Well, you could, but a healthy heatsink must be used on this interface, as it gets very hot.

”

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PimpRig Review // Ultra Products Titanium Finish Fans
PimpRig :: Thursday, March 17, 2005

“Here is a Silver and Blue 80mm, and as you see the finish is immaculate. The blades have a slight curve to them which reduces the noise of the air exiting from the end of the blades, which is where most of the noise generated from fans comes from. The 80mm fans are rated at 20.3 dBA which is almost silent, and when I powered them up I can attest to the fact that you can barely hear them.”

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Razer Diamondback Professional Gaming Mouse Pictorial Review Rev. 1.1!
Tech ARP :: Thursday, March 17, 2005

Today, we will take a look at the Razer Diamondback professional gaming mouse with its incredible 1600 DPI resolution and 16-bits data resolution! This could be the mouse that will make you the Fragmeister!
Here are the updates:-
– Added the Preliminary Opinions section. – Added the lowest PriceGrabber price links. ”

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Protection against Adware and Spyware
PCreview :: Thursday, March 17, 2005
“First, let me make my opinion clear: The installation of adware should be illegal and harshly punished. Adware has exploded because it offers big economic incentives for its sponsors. They’ll never adequately inform PC users about their software before it’s installed. This troubling aspect of adware will never be wished away.

In reality, today’s tech-illiterate legislatures will never ban adware … if they could even think of an effective legal approach to do so. We need to engage the battle on a technical level instead.”

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Swiftech MCW20-A on Intel Desktop Dothan @ InsaneTek
InsaneTek :: Thursday, March 17, 2005

”

Swiftech has been one of the most respected names for years. They have expanded from offering only blocks to complete setups. Today, we are concentrating on one piece of that system: the Northbridge cooler. In most cases, the Northbridge cooler would be an optional component. Instead of sitting on an i875, nForce3, or some other chipset, we’re going to place it on top of an Intel Pentium M processor. If this block can handle the output from a full processor, imagine the cooling it would achieve for your motherboard chipset.

”

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Editorial: DDR Development Continues On 600MHz and Up @ CoolTechZone
CoolTechZone :: Thursday, March 17, 2005

”

We’ve been following the DDR industry with quite an interest ever since memory makers announced low-latency modules that were equipped with Samsung’s TCCD chips. Yes, those were exciting times for all enthusiasts. However, certain companies kept telling us that DDR is probably not going to move forward, due to the clock speed hindrance of the actual chips. They told us not to expect anything major from DDR. We were also told that the life span of DDR would be at least two years if not more, due to the immaturity and on-going development of DDR2. Some companies also mentioned that they were firmly committed and were going to continue to develop DDR in hopes of breaking new grounds. In fact, many memory makers admitted to having a few samples of DDR memory with speeds upwards of 650MHz.

”

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Ultra Products XL PC3200 Low Latency Memory
SystemCooling :: Thursday, March 17, 2005

check it out“These days it seems like every memory manufacturer is bringing out at least one PC3200 speed kit designed to run at low latencies. These kits are also able to be overclocked beyond PC4000 speeds with good timings. Today we’re going to look at one such manufacturer, Ultra Products that has just released their new low latency PC3200 ram into the market place. And they are doing it with a little twist, Ultra Products has specified speeds and timings for their PC3200 XL ram up to PC4200 speeds.”

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DVB-T HDTV Tuner on a USB Stick
Everything USB :: Thursday, March 17, 2005
Hi, we just found out Taiwanese company Compro plans to squeeze a DVB-T TV tuner into a size of a large USB stick form factor. Called VideoMateTV DVB-T, the stick could easily be mistaken as a first generation USB flash drive, but it is actually a bus-powered HDTV tuner, which requires at least a 2.4Ghz for just viewing. There’s also another version that supports analog, which requires just 600Mhz for TV viewing.

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Apollo nVidia gForce 6600GT AGP Video Card @ OCIA.net
OCIA :: Thursday, March 17, 2005

Some of you that have seen the nVidia control panel for other cards may notice that there is no temperature monitoring tab on the Apollo control panel. As I mentioned before, all 6600GT cores have a built-in sensor. Some card manufacturers, Apollo included, have opted not to enable temp monitoring. I assume that is to discourage overclocking.”

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HEXUS.net – Intel nForce 4 SLI and Tuesday CeBIT Roundup Part 1
Hexus :: Thursday, March 17, 2005
I had a chat with NVIDIA yesterday in a meeting where they admitted slight frustration at certain pockets of press claiming that nForce4 SLI Edition for Intel Pentium 4 is a paper launch product, while also expressing bewilderment at being asked by the same hacks why it’s not called nForce5.

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Thermaltake VA8000 Series “Armor” Enclosure Review
TweakTown :: Thursday, March 17, 2005
“Mike was sent one of the latest computer cases from Thermaltake recently which is part of the VA8000 series and called “Armor”. The case includes the usual features you would expect from Thermaltake in a case along with a few new items. The case is made somewhat future proof with the inclusion of a BTX upgrade kit which will come in handy when the new form factor comes in to replace the aging ATX standard.”

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FireWire 1814 18-in/14-out FireWire Audio/MIDI Interface w/ ADAT Lightpipe Review @ Tweaknews.net
Tweaknews :: Thursday, March 17, 2005

”

Professional level recording has made a huge leap in recent years, moving out of the typical multi-million dollar studio, and into basements, living rooms, and bedrooms. One of the leaders in making this move possible is M-Audio (formerly Midiman). The flagship product of the M-Audio line is the FireWire 1814, and it’s a doozy. So, let’s dig into this review.

”

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Editorial: The Future of Air-Cooling @ CoolTechZone
CoolTechZone :: Thursday, March 17, 2005

“Remember the golden days when microprocessors did not require high performance coolers? The lower clock speeds and simpler architectures, at least for the most part, produced reasonable heat that could be dealt with by quiet stock coolers. Now, if we were to focus our attention on air-cooling for enthusiasts, designs for air coolers have also changed drastically over the years. Thankfully, as microprocessor clock speeds soared passed 1.00GHz to 2.00GHz and then to 3.00GHz (Intel only), cooling manufacturers such as Thermaltake, Cooler Master and Thermalright have kept up with market standards and necessary requirements. How were these changes tackled? Air coolers (heatsinks) started to gain more copper throughout their structure. We also saw heatpipes and stacked copper fin technologies being implemented into various high-end models, but soon after that everything just paused.”

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Arctic Cooling Silentium T2 Case Review @ MODTHEBOX.COM
MODTHEBOX! :: Thursday, March 17, 2005

”

Arctic Cooling has taken a simplistic approach towards the overall design of the Silentium T2 by focusing a good portion of detail on the front bezel. The look is very modern and contemporary accented by an attractive silver and black colour combination. The Silentium T2 Case supports both mATX and Full ATX motherboard formats and includes a 350w Seasonic PSU.

”

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PimpRig Review // XG Vortec 500W Power Supply
PimpRig :: Thursday, March 17, 2005
“The case of the XG Vortec is nicely constructed of blue anodized aluminum. Cooling is handled by 120mm intake and 80mm blue LED exhaust fans covered by attractive grills bearing the Vortec logo. Fan speed is controlled by turning a knob on the back of the unit.”

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Graphics IHV’s at CeBit 2005 article @ Beyond3D
Beyond3D :: Thursday, March 17, 2005

“Finally we also heard that graphics cards may soon be receiving a new type of output port: HDMI. HDMI is a new interconnect that’s primarily being used with high resolution devices such as HDTV’s and uses the same signalling methods as DVI with the addition that it also carries audio signals. Hopefully other PC components, such as flat panels, will also transition across to these interconnects at some point in the future, but because PC’s are increasingly being used in Media Center type environments expect some graphics cards to support HDMI fairly soon.”

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PimpRig Review // Razotech RAM Mod
PimpRig :: Thursday, March 17, 2005

check it out“I’m extremely happy to say that the RAM Mod performs exactly as advertised. A simple push of a button changes the pattern of the RAM Mod between eight different patterns. Additionally, those LEDs that Razotech used are super bright!”

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Mushkin PC2-4200 DDR533 CL 3-2-2-8 Review @ PCModdingMy
PC Modding Malaysia :: Thursday, March 17, 2005

Content: “Seeing these modules blazing past PC2-5400 specifications with latencies of 3-2-2-4 was amazing indeed and I have yet to see other DDR2 modules being able to keep such tight latencies at those speeds. I was also totally speechless seeing the modules reaching DDR693 (346MHz) with the lowest latencies possible with my setup. There’s no doubt that Mushkin is the leader in DDR2. Priced just below USD$300, I think that I have found a gem here.”

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ASUS 6800GT SLi @ t-break
t-break :: Thursday, March 17, 2005
One of the problems we initially faced with SLI was the usage of a 400W PSU to power the entire setup- this was just not cutting it and the lack of availability of a better PSU in the local market had our hands tied. Luckily, we managed to aquire a Enermax 600W PSU and that, along with nVidia releasing the new WHQL passed 71.84 drivers a couple of weeks back, made us decide to re-visit the technology.

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Gigabyte G-Max N203 Laptop Review
PCStats :: Thursday, March 17, 2005
“Most people end up compromising with a midrange laptop that does most or all of what they want, but without the utter sleekness that three grand will get you. Today we’re going to take a look a Gigabyte’s G-Max N203 laptop in “Ruby Red”, which fits neatly into this midrange category. Features and portability are this 1.6GHz Centrino-based laptop’s primary strengths, but it can also hold its own in the office computing department, as we will see a little later in the benchmarks. The ‘Ruby Red’ N203 (which we reviewed) comes with a 1.6GHz Pentium M processor and 256MB of memory.”

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Corsair COOL Water Cooling @ Legit Reviews
Legit Reviews :: Thursday, March 17, 2005
“With the majority of today’s processors becoming hotter water cooling is something that is becoming more mainstream. Corsair has been doing watercooling for years with the Hydrocool 200 and has decided to bring out a new product called the COOL to replace their old unit. Can Corsair’s new “Cool” unit bring water cooling to the masses and still perform well?…”

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Gigabyte GA-K8N Ultra-SLI Review @ Neoseeker
Neoseeker :: Thursday, March 17, 2005
”

It seems that with every Socket 939 board that we test, overclocking capabilities only get better. Our last Gigabyte board, the K8NXP-SLI, topped out at the high 270’s on the HT bus. On our K8N Ultra-SLI sample, I’ve managed to crank things up to 295 MHz. While I’ve been somewhat spoiled by the DFI LanParty NF4 Ultra’s 365 MHz, I remind myself that going from 200 MHz to ~300 MHz is a ~50% jump. A few years ago, hardcore overclockers would have killed for such percentages

”

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Razer Diamondback Professional Gaming Mouse Pictorial Review Posted!
Tech ARP :: Thursday, March 17, 2005

Quote – “Tired of getting fragged left and right? If you are questioning your fragging skills, maybe it’s time to take a look at your mouse.

Today, we will take a look at the Razer Diamondback professional gaming mouse with its incredible 1600 DPI resolution and 16-bits data resolution! This could be the mouse that will make you the Fragmeister! ”

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Fujitsu-Siemens E8020 Notebook @ t-break
t-break :: Thursday, March 17, 2005
The top-of the line model that we recieved was nicely loaded with the currently fastest Pentium-M 775 (2.13GHz) CPU, 2x512MB 533MHz DDR2 modules, a 4x Dual Layer +/- DVD writer and an 80GB, 5400RPM SATA drive. Graphics were powered by the PCI Express based ATI Mobility X600 with 64MB dedicated RAM along with a 15.1″ LCD with an SXGA+ (1400×1050) resolution.

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Silverstone Strider SST-ST46F 460W PSU review @ XtremeResources
Xtreme Resources :: Thursday, March 17, 2005

”

Another power supply unit will have to tolerate my cruelties that take place inside my test bed PC. Today, it will be the Silverstone Strider SST-ST46F 460W power supply unit, a rather special power supply unit from a similarly special company. Silverstone is a Taiwanese based company, founded back in 2003, which makes them quite new to the computer industry. They produce high class aluminum cases, power supply units, and they have expanded into the cooling and accessories market recently. Let us see if this power supply unit can keep up with the reputation of the company it represents.

”

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Introduction to Tape Backup @ The Tech Zone
The Tech Zone :: Thursday, March 17, 2005
If you run a small business, chances are you’re saving important files to a server. But what happens when disaster strikes? How are you ensuring that your files won’t be lost? Many people fail to realize that the loss of files could cripple their business. You can insure your office and equipment, but you can’t insure files. You can’t repair or buy back lost files. Ipso facto, they are lost!

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AMD Turion 64 notebook Special – Already 10 Designs!
AMDboard :: Tuesday, March 15, 2005
”

AMD Turion 64 is surely one of the hottest CeBIT 2005 product. Dubbed as the Centrino killer, the Turion 64 potential looks very good and AMD already announces more than 20 OEM and ODM willing to sport the firm latest mobile processor. Today, AMDboard.com is releasing its “AMD Turion 64 notebook Special” where all the known designs are now stored. Coming from ACER, ARIMA, ASUS, MITAC, MSI and UNIWILL, this special has already gathered 10 ODM designs ranging from 12.1″ to 15.4″ TFT, and sporting various chipsets like ATI RS480M, VIA K8N800, SIS756 and graphic chips like ATI X300 mobility, ATI X600 mobility, ATI X700 mobility or SIS760M (chipset with integrated graphics). This is undoubtedly the most extensive list of AMD Turion 64 notebooks available so far and it’s all at

”

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The Future of Entertainment @ The Tech Zone
The Tech Zone :: Tuesday, March 15, 2005
”

I’ve heard this argument before. My grade ten IT teacher assured us that within five years (and this was four years ago) we would no longer be purchasing CDs. With the advent of broadband we were going to see purchases of music and movies online, streamed to the computer or another device. I’ve always thought this was relatively unlikely. I may be in the minority, but I really like the CD and DVD cases. There’s something a bit more tangible to them, more of a feeling of value for money. Plus they look kind of good lined up on a shelf like some new-age library.

”

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Gigabyte K8VT890-9 Motherboard @ hardCOREware
hardCOREware :: Tuesday, March 15, 2005
”

When the K8T890 chipset was announced last summer, we had high hopes for VIA’s entry into the PCI-E realm. Had the timing been right, they would have been the first out of the gates with a PCI-E solution for Athlon64 CPU’s.

Unfortunately, things didn’t quite work out that way. Thanks to its architecture, we are going to see a flood of low end Socket 939’s being released with this Northbridge, pairing it up with a Southbridge that was originally introduced for Socket A motherboards. Last week we reviewed one from Soltek, this week we’re looking at Gigabyte’s solution, which carries an MSRP of just $83

”

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[COLUMN] Semi-Fortnightly Ramble: United Parcel Stompers @ TTL
The Tech Lounge :: Tuesday, March 15, 2005

”

Have you ever shipped anything UPS? Sure, we all have. How about anything worth more than say, $100…or maybe even $1,000? Wouldn’t it stand to reason that if you were shipping something of considerable and readily declared value that the company who makes money shipping things might just take that little extra step, one sliver of extra-carefulness? Apparently not. ”

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Gigabyte GV-3D1 Dual GeForce 6600GT Videocard @ PCStats
PCStats :: Tuesday, March 15, 2005
”

Gigabyte has come up with a very interesting alternative to the dual card SLI option; what they’ve done is placed two nVidia GeForce 6600GT cores and two sets of memory onto a single videocard PCB! Like a regular pair of SLI compatible cards, the two individual cores split the PCI Express 16x bus and each core gets a direct PCI Express 8x connection to the rest of the system though one standard PCI Express x16 slot. Each of the GeForce 6600GT cores on the GV-3D1 are supported with dedicated sets of 128MB of Samsung GDDR3 memory each, for a total of 256MB GDDR-3. The GV-3D1 has its cores clocked at 500MHz apiece, but the memory runs at 1120MHz – a full 120MHz over stock speeds. We’ll see later what kind of performance benefits this can produce.

”

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Gigabyte K8NXP-9 Review @ PCModdingMy
PC Modding Malaysia :: Tuesday, March 15, 2005

”

After going through this review and the benchmark results in the previous pages, you should be clear that this Gigabyte K8NXP-9 definitely is a top high end nForce4 Ultra. It outperforms the competitor by a small lead during our testing and we would like to say that the competitor is one of the famous nForce4 Ultra boards in the market now. Besides that, this Gigabyte K8NXP-9 also offers luxurious packaging, which really attract me a lot. Although the price is expensive, it’s worth it. Dual BIOS, DPS, SATA 2, 7.1 channel audio, WiFi PCI card are the signs of a high tech motherboard. Maybe Gigabyte K8NXP-9 isn’t a extreme overclocking board but it is definitely a good performance, high end, rich features board.

”

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Thermaltake PurePower 680W Power Supply @ InsaneTek
InsaneTek :: Tuesday, March 15, 2005

”

The Thermaltake 680W has placed Thermaltake in the recommended overclocker’s choice for power supplies. While offering amazing aesthetic features, such as a titanium finish and fully sleeved cables, it has enough power to supply the most straining components available. The power supply is also one of the few power supplies that is able to power two PCI-E video cards, aside from the PC Power and Cooling SLI series. ”

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LiteOn SOHW-1673S 16X DVD Writer Review @ Techniz.co.uk
Techniz.co.uk :: Sunday, March 13, 2005
“Again, LiteOn have come out with another great DVD Writer, the SOHW-1673S. The SOHW-1673S was a very good optical drive in terms of performance. The overall performance was much better than the previous model which is the SOHW-1653S. The drive itself is very stable during the reading/writing of any CD/DVD media. As for the noise level, it was much quiet compare to the all the previous model. Furthermore, the sample unit that I receive is a Black Bezel unit. I think most of the users now is looking for the Black Bezel drive. Since it looks much nicer compare to the beige bezel drive. The LiteOn SOHW-1673S DVD Writer is a worthy solution of the new 16x Dual Layer DVD writer. Highly Recommended!”

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OCZ ModStream 450W Power Supply Review @ Techniz.co.uk
Techniz.co.uk :: Sunday, March 13, 2005

“OCZ have come out with a good and great PSU which is the ModStream series PSU. The performance of the ModStream 450W PSU is very good and stable as you can refer back to the testing and performance section. Moreover, the PSU is finish in titanium color, it was looks so great. A part from that, it comes with the EZMod ATX 24pin which will able to support all the platform of motherboard nowadays. There are two SATA connector is included as well for supporting the SATA hard disk. But, there is always some downside, which the EZMod ATX 24pin (20+4) connector is slightly shorter. But, it does not cause any problem with my setup. With the price of around US $100, this was a good buy power supply unit if you are looking for a powerful and nice looking PSU. Highly Recommended!”

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CeBIT 2005: ASUS – Full ATi MVP Breakdown and more! @ Hexus
Hexus :: Sunday, March 13, 2005
“MVP supports split frame rendering using supertiling, where the screen is split up into tiled areas with each tile processed on a GPU, using any GPUs that support supertiling. That’s anything from R300 up, but it’s likely to be limited to R4xx GPUs. You can use X700 and X800, X800 XL and X850 XT PE, or any other mix that you can think of. There’s the potential to increase anti-aliasing IQ using supertiling (multipassing the tiles through a GPU) and MVP.”

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CEBIT 2005: AMD or Intel? Same Motherboard! @ Hexus
Hexus :: Sunday, March 13, 2005
“Here at CeBIT 2005, you see innovation galore, but at the ECS stand they have something truly special that stands out as being one of the hottest products of the show. HEXUS brings you the ECS PF88, the first mainboard to support both Intel P4 AND AMD Athlon 64 processors.”

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Revoltec Star Series Chromus II RPS-450V2 PSU Review @ Xtreme Resources
Xtreme Resources :: Sunday, March 13, 2005

“How times have changed recently. It was not so long ago that all power supply units were grey, dull looking with o­nly the necessary cables o­n them and no stronger than 250-300 watts peak power output. Today those are vastly outdated by power supply units which are at least twice as strong and much better looking. What happens if an innovative mind decides to design o­ne for good performance with a distinctive appearance? The Revoltec Chromus II comes into existence. Revoltec is a subsidiary of Listan. Listan was founded during the year 2000 and is based in Glinde, Germany. Except being a distributor for well known and established brands o­nly, Listan established their own brands, Revoltec and Be-Quiet. Today they already hail 4000 resellers in 24 countries. The Chromus II is the most recent successor in the Chromus line, which is o­nly 7 to 8 months old with many and interesting improvements.”

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CeBIT 2005: Zalman No Noise Computer Enclosure @ Hexus
Hexus :: Sunday, March 13, 2005
“The new TNN 300 is a compact, ‘Totally No Noise’ computer enclosure, which in Zalman’s own words is a “petite, sexy variation of the TNN series computer enclosure”. To you and me that means that Zalman have added a stylish twist to their kit, and eye appeal has had a say in how the final product looks.”

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CeBIT 2005: XFX bring Extreme PC to the masses @ Hexus
Hexus :: Sunday, March 13, 2005
“Now, as an homage to the Extreme PC Garage series, XFX have created PYP3, which takes the PC design concept, throws the idea of having a square box right out of the window, runs it over with a bus and then shoots it… twice.”

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Budget System Buyer’s Guide – Socket 754 under $400 @ Mikhailtech
Mikhailtech :: Sunday, March 13, 2005
“For the first time in our budget guide we’re making the switch from the now-discontinued Socket A platform to a much more potent Socket 754. The performance difference is a very noticeable one and although we’re not building a system for overclocking, the potential of these new 2600+ processors is amazing to say the least (overclocks close to 1GHz have been achieved). These new Semprons (the 2600+ being among them) are based on the Palermo core which is similar to Winchester with the exception of a reduced L2 cache and disabled AMD64 technology. For those wondering, in order to keep performance similar to Socket A counterparts, AMD lowered the clock speeds on the new Sempron CPUs and this is why a 2600+ runs at only 1.6GHz. The L2 cache is also smaller than older Semprons (128K vs. 256K). The Palermo core uses the 90nm manufacturing process and runs at a measly core voltage of only 1.4V. This is a retail processor so you also get a 3 year warranty (keep in mind overclocking voids this) and a stock cooler.”

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Sunbeam LAN Party Bag Review @ GideonTech
GideonTech :: Sunday, March 13, 2005
“Let’s face it. Most people mod computers with the understanding that sooner or later their creation is going to be taken to a LAN party. Unfortunately the road to a LAN party is fraught with danger. Your case can be scratched, dinged, or otherwise damaged. Not to mention it’s a pain to carry around all of the extra gear like your keyboard, mouse, and cables. Thankfully Sunbeam has a rather nifty solution to all of these problems.”

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VIA Grease Monkey Patch-Tracking Software @ PCStats
PCStats :: Sunday, March 13, 2005
“I’m a die-hard PC gamer, and I’ve got to admit that console games have PC games soundly beat on at least one major aspect: they work like they’re supposed to. No one patches console games because you can’t. While many games these days ship with a built in patching engine, many more do not. Add to this the long file download queue times associated with download sites like FilePlanet and you have a recipe for frustration. Wouldn’t it be good then, if you had a little application that could automatically locate the patches you need and the demos you want, as well as linking you to a dedicated downloading server for them? Well, today we’re going to look at an app that claims to fill just this role, the VIA Technologies “Grease Monkey” software.”

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Razotech Blizzard Case Review @ PimpRig
PimpRig :: Sunday, March 13, 2005
“Before I go any further, let me talk a little bit about the airflow design of the Blizzard case. It makes no sense at all. Both doors and the top are actually a huge mesh, but only the top and left side have filters. The front is mesh, but is mostly blocked by plastic. The only fan included on the Blizzard is a front intake yet there is no filter there. Due to the mesh design there is no way to have an effective airflow pattern because you will be unable to set up your cooling as either a positive or a negative air pressure flow.”

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Thermaltake’s Beetle Heatsink @ TechTastic
TechTastic :: Saturday, March 12, 2005

“Today we take a look at one of the most original looking heat sink/fan combos that we’ve seen to date. The Heat sink in question is Thermaltake’s Beetle with heat pipe cooling technology. The name Beetle is aptly named, as the unit actually does resemble some sort of flying insect. Looks are not the only thing going for this heatsink, it also can be used with all Intel P4 478/775, and AMD K7, K8 processors”

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MGE XG Vigor 500w PSU @ OCIA
OCIA :: Saturday, March 12, 2005

“On our first glance at the Vigor, we can finally see the chrome finish. Sadly, it is very hard to take digital pictures of chrome without it appearing to have a black finish. The chrome on the Vigor was flawless and really sets it apart from other power supplies I have come across. I would recommend, however, moving the zip tie inside the unit to improve its overall appearance.”

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asetek VapoChill LightSpeed [AC] @ Viper Lair
ViperLair :: Saturday, March 12, 2005
“It really is pretty amazing when you hear that single beep to signify a successful POST of your system after an overclock, and to hear it time after time no matter how high you raise the FSB … absolutely magical. And I know mine isn’t (currently) one of the best overclocks out there! Other folks are going higher, with 5GHz+ being very attainable thanks to the Vapochill Lightspeed.”

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XG Vigor 500W PSU Review @ PCModdingMy
PC Modding Malaysia :: Saturday, March 12, 2005

“The XG Vigor 500W is a stable power supply. We experienced no reboots or hickups while keeping it stressed. Besides, the Vigor 500W has a lot of nice features including cool looks, silent operation, sleeved cables and etc. The most important for me, I believe is the price. A price tag of 59.99USD is not a expensive for a 500W quality power supply. If you have budget to get a good quality power supply soon, then you might consider this power supply as well.”

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Crucial Ballisitx 1GB DDR PC4000 @ techniz.co.uk
Techniz.co.uk :: Saturday, March 12, 2005

“Crucial are known worldwide for their range of memory modules. Their newest range of PC Memory is the Ballistic range. These are designed maximise the performance of your system for the enthusiast, whilst minmizing errors during the transfer of data. “When You Have The Ultimate Performance System, Can You Really Tolerate Inferior Memory?”

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Intel IDF 2005: What’s New and Exciting @ InsaneTek
InsaneTek :: Saturday, March 12, 2005
“Every year, Intel gets together some of their business partners for a gathering. For those who don’t know, IDF is short for Intel Developer Forum. This is where Intel gets to brag and boast about their achievements the past year and announce upcoming technology for the future. This is my first attendance at IDF, and the experience was rather exhausting. Exhausting in a good way? Not really. Frankly, I expected to be more intrigued by the event. I guess the computer technology excitement is slowing down for me”

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Razotech Green Ram Mod Kit Review @ MODTHEBOX!
MODTHEBOX! :: Saturday, March 12, 2005

“Once a system is powered, consumers will be treated to an animated LED display that does provide a good amount of illumination inside a case interior. The LED diodes are very bright and run various “Knight Rider” style chase sequences that can be toggled at a push of a button.”

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Arctic Cooling Silentium T1 @ InsaneTek
InsaneTek :: Saturday, March 12, 2005

“By now, you should all be very familiar with Arctic Cooling products and their capabilities. Their cooling solutions make computing in silence a reality. The VGA silencers are winning awards at every site and their Freezer coolers are now the preferred choice for my test bed. With VGA coolers, CPU coolers, and case fans already set, what’s the next step in providing a cool computing environment? The case. Arctic Cooling’s step into the case category was somewhat surprising, considering that the majority of new cases today cater towards gamers. All those cases focus mainly on looks and not any increased cooling performance. Arctic Cooling has a different approach. They look to provide better cooling performance while still maintaining the low level of noise they’re very well known for. With the goals in mind, they created the Silentium T1 and T2.”

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Tips For Taking Great Digital Photos @ The Tech Zone
The Tech Zone :: Saturday, March 12, 2005
“Ever wondered why some people seem to take such great photos, while others seem to struggle? Well here are 9 tips to help you take better digital photographs the next time you venture out into the woods with a camera in your hand”

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DFI LANParty NF4 SLI-DR Motherboard @ Legit Reviews
Legit Reviews :: Saturday, March 12, 2005
“The performance was everything I could have hoped for. Our results found this board to be extremely stable at both stock speeds and when overclocking to the highest FSB possible…”

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CeBIT 2005: XFX DUAL 6800 Ultras /w 512MB per card @ Hexus
Hexus :: Saturday, March 12, 2005
“Oh yes, you can rely on us to bring you the good stuff. Over here at CeBIT, the mighty (and rather impressive) XFX stand is showing off the very latest in GFX grunt.. a very sexy SLi set up using two 6800Ultra 512megs!”

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Western Digital Raptor WD740 SATA Hard Drive Review @ PCStats
PCStats :: Saturday, March 12, 2005
“In this review, PCstats is testing out a pair of sleek 10,000 RPM Western Digital WD740 Raptors. These are the first SATA drives we’ve seen that reach 10,000 RPM, and we’re going to be testing them both singly and in a RAID stripe and mirror to see what kind of performance implications we can expect to a standard PC system. The Western Digital 74GB Raptors are also going to form the basis of PCstats’ updated hardware test platform, so expect to see a lot more of these drives in our future reviews.”

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OpenOffice.org 2.0 Beta Review @ CoolTechZone
CoolTechZone :: Thursday, March 10, 2005

“A drastic change is always traumatic. If you bite the bullet and move completely to Linux, you are sure to face many problems. We recommend that you make the transition in small stages. The first stage, and one of the most essential ones, is getting used to OpenOffice. Every Linux distribution worth it’s salt includes Openoffice.org as the default office suite. The two best things abut Openoffice are…”

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Neoseeker BIOS/Multimeter Voltage Comparison
Neoseeker :: Thursday, March 10, 2005
Today at Neoseeker we take a change of pace from the usual reviews and look at the often repeated claim that BIOS reported voltages are very inaccurate. Armed with a multimeter and a group of five boards we set out to debunk or validate these claims with some interesting results.

“At the very worst, our AOpen AK79D had a whopping -10% variance reading the +5V rail under load — that’s half a volt! Soltek’s K8AN2E-GR hit a bullseye with its +12V readings, matching the multimeter to the dot when idling, and being only half a percent lower under load.”

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PimpRig Review // Hiper Type R Black Label & Silver Label 480W PSU
PimpRig :: Thursday, March 10, 2005
“Studying the 8 pages in English, only the last two and a half pages are of any real use, covering connector pinouts, features and warranty information, but include a hopelessly optimistically titled “troubleshooting” section covering four lines. The rest of the English section seems to be a poorly adapted (and sometimes poorly translated) reworking of the ATX PSU specification, for example: “When AC power is on, the power supply shall be in save mode of operation, and +5VSB” should be within its regular window. When a TTL “L” signal is inserted, the power supply will be enabled. When TTL signal “H” is inserted the power supply will be disabled”. Quite.”

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Ultra PC3200 XL Memory Review
Overclocker Café :: Thursday, March 10, 2005

Ultra Products have been mainly known for their X-Connect modular power supplies. Over the past few months they have expanded their product line to include high performance memory. Today, the crew at the Overclocker Cafe’ has posted a review of Ultra’s low latency PC3200 memory that scales up to DDR550! Here’s a snip of the review.

Ultra may be the new kid on the block in the memory world but you wouldn’t guess that if you weren’t told. They have put out a capital product with their low latency PC3200 memory sticks. The tight 2-2-2-5 at DDR400 was expected but reaching DDR550 by loosening the timings was not. There are a number of PC4000 or PC4200 memory products out that can’t handle PC4400 (DDR550) but Ultra is most certainly not one of them.

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Mid-Level PC Buying Guide at TechSpot
Tech Spot :: Thursday, March 10, 2005
Weighing performance and price evenly, the mid-level PC Guide gives you the best mix of today’s mid-range hardware and include some of the lowest prices on the net for your convenience. Then again mid-range does not mean we will recommend an average mainstream configuration, otherwise we would be better off sending you directly to the deals usually found at Dell or HP websites… if something is to remain constant across our buying guides is that we keep it at a very enthusiast level.

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IDEMA Network Storage Conference 2005 Report @ The Tech Zone
The Tech Zone :: Thursday, March 10, 2005
Never put multiple agenda storage people in the same room and ask them who is best! IDEMA (International Disk Drive Equipment and Materials Association) did it recently to help CE/PC and storage folks understand each other’s issues, needs and agendas. The very focused event helped them all get their arms around where things were going for video, audio, photo and darn near every other application.

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Thermaltake Soprano Mid-Tower Case
SystemCooling :: Thursday, March 10, 2005
snip: “Thermaltake is known for producing some very good computer cases. As of recently they have begun to expand their lineup once again with the release of the Tsunami Dream and the Shark cases. Today we’ll be looking at another new case from Thermaltake, the Soprano. Will this case live up to the Thermaltake name? Let’s find out.”

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Editorial: IBM/Lenovo: The Real Beneficiaries
Designtechnica :: Thursday, March 10, 2005
“Now that the US government has resoundingly approved the IBM-Lenovo deal (which, if rejected, would have required an explanation as to why the flow of technology into China for years suddenly was improper), we get to see the full impact of the deal. Initially, Dell and HP will probably be the greatest beneficiaries, as the two units go through the merger process and seek to address the concerns of long-time IBM customers. But the long term beneficiaries may be Oracle, Microsoft, Intel, VIA, and AMD.”

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Alphacool NexXxos BOLD vs Prescott, Intel’s Black Sheep @ Madshrimps
Madshrimps :: Thursday, March 10, 2005
Quote: “Can Alphacool´s Xtreme Pro Set mated with their NexXxos BOLD water block dowse the Prescott fire? Intel´s offspring have all been well behaved until Prescott, the Black Sheep came along. Sadly the little (90nm) CPU has had to endure so many epithets, such as claims it can double as a space-heater, and it converts standard H20 systems into phase-change, etc… How cruel the industry can be, and in keeping with mixed metaphors today´s test will determine if one of Alphacool´s best can extinguish the 115W flame within?”

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XG Vortex 500W Power Supply Video Review #543:
3dgameman :: Thursday, March 10, 2005

“The XG Vortex 500W Power Supply performs very well and looks stunning with its all-aluminum construction and two windows. It comes with two blue LED fans (120mm & 80mm) which can be easily adjusted in speed. There are plenty of sleeved leads which increase airflow inside your case. In addition, the sleeving and all the connectors are UV reactive. You’ll be hard pressed to find a better overall PSU. Watch the Video to find out more…” ~3dGameMan.com

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OCZ ModStream 520w Power Suply Review at TechIMO
Techimo :: Thursday, March 10, 2005

Cracking open the case required removing a mere four Philips head screws and simply lifting off the cover. The OCZ ModStream 520w is one densely packed power supply. Not a single inch of circuit board is wasted! All internal wiring was properly sleeved, and the solder joints looked professionally done. Even the glue work on the capacitor grids was top notch, something we haven’t seen in our labs properly done in quite awhile.

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Used Lens Buying Guide Posted!
Tech ARP :: Thursday, March 10, 2005

Quote – “With digital SLR cameras so affordable now, it’s inevitable for techies and budding photographers alike to snap them up like hot cakes. But while the cameras are cheap, the lenses are not.

But fret not, because you can actually buy used lenses instead! Used lenses are a real bargain but there are some things you should be aware before you buy them. And that’s what this guide is all about! ”

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First Turion 64 Notebook Specification Posted!
AMDboard :: Thursday, March 10, 2005
AMD Turion 64 is the latest AMD answer to Intel Centrino supremacy with low consumption of 25 and 35 Watts and all the features that made AMD Athlon 64 so popular like quantispeed, AMD64, SSE and SSE2 compatibility and many more. Today AMDboard is first to have the specification of the first known AMD Turion 64 notebook the M622-DK8X. The puppy offers a choice of ATI graphic cards ATI MOBILITY RADEON X300 (CSP32/64MB) & ATI MOBILITY RADEON X600 (CSP64/128MB), 15″ TFT monitor, hard drive from 40 to 80GB, DVD DL combo, and best of all, a choice of AMD Turion 64 processor starting at 1.6GHz (ML28).More of this at AMDboard.com

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Column: When Will Ugly Computer Cases Disappear? @ CoolTechZone
CoolTechZone :: Wednesday, March 09, 2005

”

A few years ago when companies began introducing their pre-modded computer cases, it is safe to say that the majority of the enthusiast community was quite excited to see something unique being brought to the market. These new cases were aimed at the person that did not possess the skills or have the time required to perform tedious case mods. Up until that point, all computer users had available were basic, bland beige (or similar “colored”) cases to store their precious system components. These new cases brought along some attractive and interesting concepts and designs. Aluminum, instead of steel, and high quality construction became the norm. Gradually these wonderful designs began to change. Either the market became flooded with hundreds of pre-modded cases or the manufacturers started taking advantage of the community and began producing rather shameful, mostly steel cases, wrapped in monstrous looking plastic shells.

”

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Overclocking the Socket 939 AMD Athlon 64 @ OCIA.net
OCIA :: Wednesday, March 09, 2005

”

As mentioned earlier, I set my timings to 2.5-3-3-8-1T. I also lowered the HT multiplier to 3x. At these settings, I was able to get a maximum stable overclock of 9 x 255 (1:1) = 2,295 MHz, or basically 2.3 GHz. I tried lowering the multiplier to 8 and even 7, and also lowering the RAM divisor but was unable to get better results than those obtained at 9 x 255. I also tried various voltage settings, backing down from max as I have read that it can help sometimes. But in my case, I had no luck. I also tried using MSI’s Core Center to increase the CPU voltage over the BIOS maximum but found this program to be buggy and often times lock up the system completely. The system would boot up to 2.4 GHz but was unstable in Prime 95 and Super Pi.

”

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MSI Megaview 561 Portable Multimedia Player Review @ PCstats
PCStats :: Wednesday, March 09, 2005
”

Every tech company out there seems to be producing some variation of the portable video player theme. The idea is simple. Take a hard disk MP3 player, add an LCD screen and video decoding/playback hardware, shake well and release into the wild. MSI’s take on the video player comes a couple of years into the game, so they’ve presumably had time to watch other companies make mistakes. The Megaview 561 sports a 3.5 inch LCD, a 20GB hard disk, TV out and A/V recording capabilities, FM radio playback and recording, DivX and MPEG4 support, a full featured photo viewer, USB 2.0 and much more, making it one of the most capable multimedia video players on the market.

”

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Are you addicted to the internet @ The Tech Zone
The Tech Zone :: Wednesday, March 09, 2005
”

A recent news story reported that the Finnish army has sent some of its conscripts home due to the fact that they are unable to handle the compulsory six months in the army without access to their computers. When computers and the Internet are becoming integral components or even the main focus of leisure, education, and work time, it’s not hard to see how losing access can really affect someone. I can see this new technology getting blamed for all sorts of woes in the future much in the same way television has in the present. ”

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Gigabyte GA-K8N Ultra-SLI Motherboard Review @ PCStats
PCStats :: Wednesday, March 09, 2005
”

In this review PCStats is testing out one such option, the Gigabyte GA-K8N Ultra-SLI motherboard. This board is targeted towards the mainstream market (as mainstream as SLI gets, anyhow), and supports all Socket 939 AMD Athlon64/FX processors. With room for up to 4GB of unbuffered DDR RAM, its dual PCIe x16 slots handle the graphical duties with a full 16 lanes of PCIe with a single videocard and two sets of eight when in SLI mode with compatible nVidia-based cards. The SLI bridge connector comes included (GC-SLI). In terms of features, the GA-K8N Ultra-SLI includes an additional four channel Serial ATA/RAID controller, two Gigabit NICs (neither of which run through the PCI bus), IEEE 1394b, 7.1-channel audio, SPDIF in/out, and of course Gigabyte’s essential dual BIOS feature.

”

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Raidmax Virgo 811W Case Review @ ModdersHQ.net
ModdersHQ.net :: Wednesday, March 09, 2005

”

Raidmax has been a strong runner in recent years as a solid case manufacturer. They are known for generally good quality and creative designs. Just recently, courtesy of Raidmax themselves, I found a large package on my doorstep containing one of their latest creations: the Virgo 811, with the new window kit. It arrived in a clearly marked box, with brief rundown of the case’s features on one side, and a list of the box’s contents on another.

”

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SkyHawk PowerONE 570W Power Supply @ Legit Reviews
Legit Reviews :: Wednesday, March 09, 2005
”

When the SkyHawk PowerONE is powered up the LED’s inside the case light up giving the clear fans a nice subtle blue color. One of the other features that the PowerONE came with is a third 12v rail and Audio Standby…

”

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Rumored Logitech MX518 Mouse emerges
Everything USB :: Wednesday, March 09, 2005
”

Slated to ship in April 2005, the $49.99 USB mouse will sport quick-shift controls above and beneath of the scroll wheel, allowing switching between 400, 800 and 1600-dpi without additional driver. For flexibility, SetPoint software will allow up to 5 levels of resolutions to be set as well. This feature will purportedly give hardcore gamers the speed and precision they need in any types of games.

”

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Intel’s BTX Form Factor – An Analysis and Opinion @ HEXUS
Hexus :: Tuesday, March 08, 2005
”

I can count the number of commercially available BTX mainboards and chassis’ in this country on one hand. I can count the number of UK retailers selling packaged Pentium 4 processors with the Type 1 BTX Thermal Module on the fingers of no hands. Intel are happy for that to happen, too. Softly does it with BTX was the message conveyed to us during recent conversations. While BTX itself is a full platform shift, it’s going to happen in incremental steps.

”

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Corsair XMS XPERT Series Memory With Programmable Display @ Tech-Mods.Net
Tech-Mods.net :: Tuesday, March 08, 2005

”

If you have ever had the opportunity to drive a fine tuned sport car, you would have noticed the dashboard had large gauges. This is for good reason; giving the driver important information at a quick glance. Well with High end computers there is no reason to be any different, the more you know what your system is up to the better. Corsair the company that brought you the LED activity lights with their XMS pro series memory modules has taken it a step further. Today we will be looking at the new XMS Xpert line of memory modules Corsair has to offer. The XMS Xpert memory modules

”

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Koolance VID-NV2-L06 GPU Cooler @ Systemcooling
SystemCooling :: Tuesday, March 08, 2005

”

Last month we gave the world its first look at the new Koolance PC3-725BK water-cooled case system. During that review, we also had a glimpse of their VID-NV2-L06 GPU cooler for the nVidia 6800 series. Today, we’re giving this cooler the full treatment, and we’ll find out if it performs as well as the PC3-725 did.

”

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Patriot 1GB 3200+ XBL Dual Channel Memory Kit Review @ Adrian’s Rojak Pot
Tech ARP :: Tuesday, March 08, 2005

”

You may not have heard of PDP Systems but they may just have the best-performing Samsung TCCD-based memory modules.

”

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Foxconn WinFast NF4K8MC-ERS nForce4 Motherboard @ Bjorn3D
Bjorn3D :: Tuesday, March 08, 2005
”

NVIDIA has come a long way since they released their first nForce chipset several years ago. I don’t think anyone expected a video card company being able to compete with companies like Intel and VIA but if you got a AMD CPU these days chances are high you are using a NVIDIA chipset on the motherboard.

NVIDIA’s latest chipset, the nForce 4, has gained a lot of attention mainly for its support for 2 NVIDIA PCI-Express card in SLI-mode. The chipset is available in three versions. SLI, Ultra and non-Ultra. Those who want to save a few pennies and do not need the SLI feature can get motherboards using the cheaper nForce4 non-Ultra chipset. Today I am testing one of those cheaper motherboards, the Foxconn Winfast NF4K8MC-ERS, the little brother to the Foxconn nForce 4 motherboard Shane reviewed a few weeks ago.

”

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A.C.Ryan RyanPower2 450w Modular PSU @ Viper Lair
ViperLair :: Tuesday, March 08, 2005
”

Overall, the AC Ryan 450w modular power supply is an excellent unit. The only negative thing that I found about it is that there were not enough mini 4-pin connections for my setup. Aside from that, the voltage levels all stayed at proper levels, the modular cable system makes my case look a whole lot cleaner, and actually makes installation easier since I don’t have to hunt around for my cables.

”

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Crucial Ballistix Tracer DDR2 PC2-5300 reviewed @ XtremeResources
Xtreme Resources :: Saturday, March 05, 2005

“The era of DDR RAM is slowly coming to the end and DDR2 is replacing the older format o­n the newest Intel platform. Companies began manufacturing DDR2 RAM in small quantities just a few months ago because of the low demand but production is projected to be in massive quantities by the end of the year. O­nly a very few select companies have made DDR2 modules for the enthusiast and overclocker to this day. Even fewer manufacturers took a step forward and offer 1GB capacity modules for the enthusiast who believe that size does matter. Crucial took the step forward and offers 1GB modules from their top of the line of Tracer Ballistix DDR2 PC2-5300 RAM.”

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Intricate Designs Dremeling Guide @ ModdersHQ.net
ModdersHQ.net :: Saturday, March 05, 2005

“In modding, if you want to do things the old fashioned way (yourself), then there are many different types of skills you must master. One of the most popular tools in the modding world is the Dremel. Dremels can be used for tons of different chores in a mod, however the most common one would be cutting a window. This guide has been written to show you the steps and techniques in dremeling a complex and detailed cutout.”

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DFI’s Vivian Lien @ Legit Reviews
Legit Reviews :: Saturday, March 05, 2005
“Later this month I’ll be bringing you my thoughts on DFI’s newest motherboard, the NForce 4 SLI-DR for socket 939, so, as a primer, I spoke with Vivian Lien to give you guys…and gals, an idea of where DFI is coming from, and where they are going.”

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Texas Gaming Festival LAN Party Coverage @ CoolTechZone
CoolTechZone :: Saturday, March 05, 2005

“The Texas Gaming festival is a successful LAN event that has been taking place in Dallas, Texas for the past few years. Over the years, it has become one of the top most visited and sponsored LAN events in the nation with attendance easily surpassing the 500-attendee attendance. This year was no different. In fact, this was perhaps the most successful attempt at a LAN event especially when ATI decided to launch its X850 XT PE 512MB graphics card officially.”

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Xeon Heatsink Review @ AMD Review
AMD Review :: Saturday, March 05, 2005

“I would like to share a tidbit about the new Xeon heat sink that comes with the retail version of the Xeon 800FSB Processors. In an era where people fancy products that are smaller, thinner, and lighter, Intel took an opposite approach when they designed their new heat sinks. Intel’s new heat sink is 2.39lbs (the heaviest I have ever seen) compared to an AMD Opetron heat sink that is 0.88lb.”

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Arctic Cooling A64 Freezer Heatsink Review @ ModdersHQ.net
ModdersHQ.net :: Saturday, March 05, 2005

“Arctic Cooling has a real winner here with the A64 Freezer. It’s both powerful and silent. The Venus12 used to be my 24/7 HSF, but once I put in this A64 Freezer I haven’t looked back once… If you want great performance at low sound levels this is for you.”

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March 2005 Giveaway @ Mikhailtech
Mikhailtech :: Saturday, March 05, 2005

“Today we announce this month’s Sidewinder Computers-sponsored giveaway at Mikhailtech. We’re giving away a pair of low-noise, high-performance accessory bundles to a couple lucky winners!”

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Logisys Janus Case Review @ CoolTechZone
CoolTechZone :: Friday, March 04, 2005

Computer enthusiasts want to spend every last penny of their disposable income on the latest and greatest hardware. They always want a faster graphics card, a new microprocessor, faster RAM, a new motherboard, a bigger (storage wise) or faster hard drive and a better case, in that order. So, is the penny-pinching hardware buyer going to want to put a lot of money towards his case when he can put a lot of it towards a next generation graphics card? The answer is an obvious “No”. Not everyone needs cases that cost as much as a 200GB hard drive, which is why the sub-$100 market has been getting more features because of the huge amount of manufacturers vying for your money.”

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First Albatron nForce4 SLI motherboard spec and photo posted
AMDboard :: Friday, March 04, 2005
Albatron announced yesterday the release of the company’s very first NVIDIA nForce 4 SLI motherboard the ALBATRON K8SLI. With a Socket 939 sporting AMD Athlon 64 and AMD Athlon 64 FX, the K8SLI has a smaller, space saving form factor (7.7″ x 11.5″). In addition, Albatron managed to squeeze out more space by eliminating a “switch” card between the two VGA cards that was initially speced by the NVIDIA SLI reference board. Aside from the SLI features, the K8SLI also features the ABS (Albatron BIOS Security). The ABS is a small circuit board with a backup BIOS chip and is attached to the mainboard next to the on-board BIOS. This detachable circuit board provides the luxury of easily replacing it in emergency BIOS situations as opposed to sending in the entire mainboard for repair. The K8SLI performance increase of 1.7 times is quite a quantum leap as far as VGA processing is concerned which goes to show that two VGA cards are better than one. Enthusiasts and gamers can now look to dual VGA card technology to provide the answer to increasingly challenging graphics animation software. AMDboard has the specification and photo at

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A4Tech NB-30 Battery Free Wireless Optical Mouse Review @ Tweaknews.net
Tweaknews :: Friday, March 04, 2005

“Well in today’s review I will be looking at the A4Tech NB30 wireless and batteryless mouse. This concept was confusing me from the get go, and I couldn’t possibly see how this would work well, let alone work. Basically the mouse works by receiving electromagnetic inductive energy, this eliminates any radio frequency interference of a regular wireless mouse, and gives constant power without warranting batteries; though only if the mouse is touching the mousepad. I will bring you to the realm of the batteryless mouse and show you what to know before you spend the money on this new computer peripheral.”

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Thermaltake Big Typhoon @ InsaneTek
InsaneTek :: Friday, March 04, 2005

Quote: “When it comes to cooling products, everyone’s probably heard of Thermaltake. Since 1999, Thermaltake has been manufacturing cases and cooling products. I’ve never really used a Thermaltake product before, so I can’t really say much about their past coolers. As companies began to implement heatpipes, Thermaltake did the same with their new line of coolers. Today we have the Thermaltake Big Typhoon up for review. Let’s go ahead and take a look at how this thing performs.”

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ArctiClean Thermal Material Remover
Mikhailtech :: Friday, March 04, 2005

Given the minor time investment in cleaning the heatsink, I was pleasantly surprised by ArctiClean’s ability to get rid of the leftover compound. It’s not a miracle solution; it took several “passes” to get most of it off. But, as you can see the difference between plain rubbing alcohol and ArctiClean is quite noticeable. It’ll still take some time and lots of rubbing to get rid of all the paste, but it’s a great start. I also used ArctiClean on a copper heatsink which used a ceramic-based compound. It came off completely with the cheaper alcohol and ArctiClean didn’t account for any noticeable difference. It seems that the degree to which rubbing alcohol will work compared to ArctiClean depends on the compound in question. Arctic Silver, as we saw earlier, doesn’t come off too well with Isopropyl, but white paste does. I then decided to clean off a CPU which was placed below the aforementioned copper heatsink. It too had a ceramic compound on it.

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AOpen i915Pa-PLF Motherboard Review
PCStats :: Friday, March 04, 2005
The AOpen i915Pa-PLF motherboard is a socket 775 Intel Pentium 4 solution designed for mainstream users getting ready to upgrade a little of everything. Obviously based on the Intel 915P chipset, this blackened-PCB motherboard supports current 800/533MHz FSB Socket 775 CPUs (Celeron or Pentium 4), and requires a PCI-Express compatible video card. AGP videocards are not supported at all.”

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TTIC NPH-775-1 & NPH-K8-1 CPU Cooler Review @ PCModdingMy
PC Modding Malaysia :: Friday, March 04, 2005

“Overall the NPH-775-1 and NPH-K8-1 are both a good CPU cooler. The thing that we did not like was the noise that the stock fan produced. The installation was also a little complicated due to the fact that motherboard removal was required. On the other hand, the performance that this cooler showed was a little disappointing. Not forgetting that the NPH-775-1 and NPH-K8-1 is fully copper and comes with a single heat column with a nice copper base. If you think that the NPH-775-1 and NPH-K8-1 appeals to you, you might want to grab one for your LGA775 or K8 setup.”

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Interview with Paul Capello, a.k.a. “Crimson Sky” @ TheTechLounge
The Tech Lounge :: Friday, March 04, 2005

“Case modding (short for “modification”) is the art of building and customizing computers. In the skillful hands of a master case modder, boring beige computers are transformed into bold and beautiful works of PC art that can either stand out in a crowd—or blend seamlessly into any environment, such as the living room, kitchen or office. From Austin to Zurich, craftspeople and hobbyists are busy creating works of modern industrial art that is helping to push computer technology, manufacturing and creative thinking— forward into the new century.

Today we will be talking to world-renowned case modder, Paul Capello (a.k.a. “Crimson Sky”). Many of you may know Paul from his website, TheBestCaseScenario.com, or from following his worklogs such as “Doom 3: Project Mars City” and “Project Nighthawk: Skunkworks F117A.” We are working with Paul to create some exciting new content for TheTechLounge, but before we get into that let’s find out a little bit about the man that created these incredible works of art.”

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Swissbit’s 2 Gig Twist Pro Flash Drive @ TechTastic.ca
TechTastic :: Friday, March 04, 2005

Flash Drives have become increasingly more popular lately. These mini dynamos provide a nice portable solution to transfer files to and from the office or what have you. Typically flash drives come in flavors of 16-512 megs. But what if you need more storage and it still needs to be small and portable? Well the folks at Swissbit have you covered with their large capacity flash drives called the USB Twist Pro. These USB 2.0 compatible flash drives come in two huge sizes to fit your needs 2 and 4 gigabytes!

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A4-Tech NB-30 battery free wireless mouse reviewed @ DataFuse.net
DataFuse :: Thursday, March 03, 2005

“We’ve all seen it happen. First there was the optical “look-at-it-glow” mouse then the wireless mice came quite fast afterwards, and the combination of the two was inevitable. A couple of months ago the laser “watch-out-for-the-eyes” mouse made its introduction. But this tops it all off: The battery free wireless mouse from A4 Tech”

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Intel 65nm Yonah Processor Spotted @ Legit Reviews
Legit Reviews :: Thursday, March 03, 2005

“While walking around Intel’s Spring 2005 Developer Forum we spotted the 65nm Yonah processor up and running on the Napa Platform. Since Yonah is due out in 2006 it was unexpected, but a welcomed sight to say the least…”

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Intel 660 3.6Ghz & 3.73Ghz Extreme Edition 64bit Pentium 4 Processor Review
Tweaknews :: Thursday, March 03, 2005

“With Windows x64 Edition nearing its’ full release date, Intel has released their 64bit capable 6XX and Extreme Edition line of processors to tackle the new 64bit challenge and the nice thing is if you own a Intel® 925XE Express or i915 based chipset motherboard, 64bit computing is only a processor and a BIOS flash upgrade away. Let’s see what the new line of Intel processors have to offer….”

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HEXUS.feature – IDF Spring 2005: Day 1 Keynote : Pat Gelsinger
Hexus :: Thursday, March 03, 2005

“We always like speaking with Pat and attending his keynote’s, often some of the most insightful outlooks on the industry come direct from this man. This Spring IDF was no different, in his keynote speech Gelsinger, the man who is no longer CTO is now heading up Intel’s Digital Enterprise division, announced that data now compiles to their Moores Law theory in doubling every 12 to 18 months. However, to keep up with demand, it’s important to have scalable architecture ready to cope with the increase.”

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Intel’s 64-bit Technology: Come Late, Stay Quiet.
PCStats :: Thursday, March 03, 2005

“As you may know, Intel recently brought legacy compatible 64-bit technology to its Xeon and Pentium 4 lines of processors. This move was inevitable when you take into account the huge success that AMD has had with its Opteron line of 32-bit/64-bit chips as compared to Intel’s Itanium (‘I-tanic’) Server processors. Intel needed to close this gap, and they have. The question is, why is Intel being so quiet about it? Compared to AMD’s triumphant buildup and release of its 64-bit server and Athlon64 desktop processors, Intel’s recent incorporation of 64-bit x86-compatible instructions into its chips could be classified as pretty much invisible. If a thousand-pound elephant could tiptoe, that would be what Intel did in bringing 64-bit to their products.”

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Shuttle SB86i XPC @ t-break
t-break :: Thursday, March 03, 2005

“When the unit is powered up, a blue horizontal line lights up making the unit look very cool. Unfortunately, Shuttle uses an orange LED light for hard drive activity placed in the middle of this blue light which does not look that great. We think that Shuttle should’ve used a different shade of blue for this purpose. While the front of the unit is white, the sides are steel which also looks good but we think that an all white design might’ve looked better.”

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Cooler Master Wave Master LE
Overclockers Online :: Thursday, March 03, 2005

“Not an inexpensive case, the Wave Master represents many of the aspects around Cooler Master that have given them the reputation they have today. Such aspects as cooling, build, design, and features are important and the quality with which they are delivered is what makes a great case. These are the areas that will be concentrated on today.”

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OCZ Announces PC-4800 EL DDR Platinum Limited Edition
OCZ Technology :: Thursday, March 03, 2005
Bringing DDR(1)600 to market has been a technical challenge – but we have mastered this milestone event using a combination of ULN PCB with extended voltage protection to 3.0V,” said Dr. Michael Schuette, Director of Technology Development at OCZ Technology. “DDR600 has been achieved before only by a small selected group of hardcore overclockers, but the new OCZ PC-4800 EL DDR Platinum Limited Edition is real product, underscoring OCZ’s dedication to stay ahead of the competition.

Link: http://www.ocztechnology.com/aboutocz/press/2005/125

X-Micro EVA MP3 Player
OcPrices :: Thursday, March 03, 2005

“The player itself is a small USB flash drive sized MP3 player, which is powered by a single AAA battery. Whilst you might think that wont be enough for much playing time, the X—Micro Eva actually allows for a very solid 12 hours continuous playback from each battery.”

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Sunbeamtech Giveaway @ SystemCooling.com
SystemCooling :: Wednesday, March 02, 2005

”

It’s March and spring is just around the corner. With spring comes a lot of sunshine and to celebrate that we hooked up with Sunbeamtech to offer you another giveaway. This time around we’ll be giving away one Samurai case, two Chameleon controllers and two Lightbus controllers. This giveaway will run from March 2nd to March 23rd. To enter send an email to contest@systemcooling.com with the subject line “Sunbeam Giveaway”, in the body of the email include your name and email. Winners will be randomly drawn and notified via email. All entries will be forwarded to Sunbeam for marketing purposes. Good luck and happy entering…

”

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DDR-2 PC-5400 Performance Memory Shootout – OCZ vs. Corsair vs. Kingston @ TweakTown
TweakTown :: Wednesday, March 02, 2005
”

In our latest article we are comparing the performance of some of the top brands in DDR-2 memory modules. We’ve got modules on the test bench from OCZ (PC-5400 Performance series), Corsair (XMS2 Pro series) and Kingston (HyperX series). After taking a close look at each set of Dual Channel modules, we tested them at their default speeds and as far as we could overclock them.

”

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XG Vortec 500W Power Supply Review @ PCModdingMy
PC Modding Malaysia :: Wednesday, March 02, 2005

”

The Vortec 500W is a great looking power supply with enough juice to power even most demanding hardware. The sleek and stylish blue coloured aluminium housing looks great with the sleeved power cables. Besides that, I wished that the Vortec 500W came with a 24-pin power connector (just like the ModStream) and maybe another 6-pins PCI-E power connector. Priced at just $90, the Vortec 500W has a very strong place in the power supply market. If you’re a gamer or looking for the right hardware for your case mod project, the Vortec 500W power supply should be the right choice for you!

”

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Antec Phantom 350W Fanless PSU Review @ Mikhailtech
Mikhailtech :: Wednesday, March 02, 2005

”

Most of the above listed features are standard with the majority of quality power supplies, but the 85% efficiency is by far the highest rated value of any currently available PSU. Much like the fanless design, this is big news. Mechanically, efficiency is the ratio of useful energy delivered by a machine to the energy supplied for its operation. In power supplies, the rest is given off as heat. The industry standard is currently close to 70% with quality units ranging between 75%-80%. 70% vs. 85% may not seem like much, but consider this mathematically ideal situation: using a 300 watt load (more than adequate even for high-end systems), an 85% efficient PSU will give off 45 watts as heat; a 70% efficient PSU will give off 90 watts as heat – that’s twice as much! So, even 15% of extra efficiency translates into half the heat output.

”

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Thermalright SI-97 Heatsink Review @ Bjorn3D
Bjorn3D :: Wednesday, March 02, 2005
”

Prior to receiving this product, my technological standpoint on heat-pipe technology was more one of curiosity rather than one of practicality. Experience gained from working on laptops had increased my interest, but I still saw heat-pipes as more of a necessary evil than anything else. Why do I say necessary evil? Well, I would never consider using a heat-pipe anywhere where there was any other option.

Finally, an opportunity to discover the true efficiency of heat-pipes arrived from the good folks at CrazyPC.com in the form of the Thermalright SI-97 Heatsink. Will this unique piece of CPU-cooling hardware turn my beliefs on their head or will conventional wisdom come out the winner? Read on to see who delivers the knockout punch!

”

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In-depth Logitech MX518 Review
Everything USB :: Friday, April 01, 2005
“Optical illusions are fascinating. What are really just a few dots of ink can effectively fool the mind’s depth perception and color recognition, enough to make you look twice and try to feel what’s actually there. The MX518 takes advantage of this art with its new faceplate. A dark metallic silver color appears to absorb light in different areas, giving off the appearance of very deep dents in the mouse itself. The Swiss-cheese-like ‘holes’ are very similar to the NASA photos of moon craters, or perhaps more like someone putting speed holes in a new car with a pickaxe. Whatever it looks like, it will definitely pull attention on store shelves with the see-through box it’s packaged in.”

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Dell Axim X50v Pocket PC Review @ The Tech Zone
The Tech Zone :: Friday, April 01, 2005

The powerful Dell Axim X50v Pocket PC features a large 3.7″ VGA display that provides brilliant, clear images at 640×480 resolution. This was previously unheard of in a handheld device. The large viewing area makes documents easy to see so you can work smart and fast. In addition to the big screen display, the X50v features the fastest CPU ever placed inside a Pocket PC; an Intel XScale PXA270 Processor running at 624MHz!

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USBGeek Liquid Optical USB “Ducky” Mouse @ Controlled-Insanity
Controlled-Insanity :: Thursday, March 31, 2005

The first thing you see when you look at this mouse is the “Ducky” swimming around the back end of it. Hence it has been nicknamed the “Ducky Mouse”. The duck swims around in what appears to be some type of clear oil and will provide you with hours of giggles and “What the heck is that” comments from friends and family.

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D-Link DGL-4300 Wireless 108G Gaming Router @ Viperlair
ViperLair :: Saturday, March 26, 2005
“D-Link has brought to market a product that is both powerful and easy enough for most to understand (as long as you are willing to read the manual some). Not only have they provided you with a rather complete list of supported games, they have given you the ability to manipulate this with your own settings if you so desire.”

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Leadtek WinFast TV USB II Deluxe @ Bjorn3D
Beyond3D :: Saturday, March 26, 2005
“I can’t seem to get away from the vast expanse of multi-media madness that has enveloped the lives of so many of my fellow geeks. Not only do I have 5.1 surround sound, a 20.1′ LCD monitor, and a bunch of games to boot, now I have my TV in front of me at the same time. Leadtek brings to the table the WinFast TV USB II Deluxe external solution that will give you the joys of cable TV, VCR, and an FM radio right on your desktop. How do you fit so much into just a tiny little USB 2.0 box? Turn off that TV and pay attention; we are just about to find out.”

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USB Evolution in the Past 10 Years
Everything USB :: Saturday, March 26, 2005
“The past 10 years have witnessed the birth and growth of a new bus technology called Universal Serial Bus (USB). For the first few years after its introduction, many industry insiders wondered where this technology was heading. While it was designed to connect computers and telecommunication gear, it became a universal bus for a host of peripherals including consumer electronic products. Since its inception, USB has made significant contributions to the desktop, and peripherals alike.”

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HP LaserJet 2420-DN Network Laser Printer Review
PCStats :: Friday, March 25, 2005
“A good quality laser printer is still an essential for any office where printing is required. We work in an office ourselves, and we know how difficult it can be to find reliable unbiased information in the less-than-sexy area of reliable business equipment. We’ve taken a look at several laser printers over the last few months, and today we’re pleased to have another one in-house. The Hewlett-Packard Laserjet 2420dn model that we’re looking at is a networked monochrome laser printer with a 1200×1200 maximum resolution, 64MB of onboard memory (expandable to 320MB), 350 sheet paper capacity, a built-in HP JetDirect Ethernet print server, and automatic duplex printing.”

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Logitech MX1000 Laser Cordless Mouse Review @ Mikhailtech
Mikhailtech :: Wednesday, March 23, 2005

”

The SetPoint driver package is simple yet extremely powerful. Aside from being able to modify your pointer settings (trails, speed, side scrolling speed, acceleration, scrolling size, etc) you can also completely reprogram all of the buttons except the tilt wheel. You can either choose from a basic list of operations, or you can choose “other” which brings up a more extended list. For instance, instead of using the application switch button’s default function, I have it set to maximize the selected window on press. None of this is new though, as the same button functions were available for programming on the MX310 and MX510. The biggest difference is the new “keystroke assignment” feature. If you select it, you can then program each button to have the same function as a keystroke or a series of two keystrokes.

”

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Preventing Laptop Computer Theft @ The Tech Zone
The Tech Zone :: Saturday, March 19, 2005
“While technology has made laptops smaller, easier to store and transport, it has also made them easier to conceal and steal. It’s the convenience that has made the laptop computer so popular and the information vehicle of choice for business people throughout the world.

The computer itself is a valuable asset and one that should be protected, but it can be replaced, however, the information stored on it in many cases is not replaceable and of greater value to competitors if compromised. A thief can get a few thousand dollars for a top of the line laptop, but he can get a whole lot more for a company’s marketing plans”

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palmOne Treo 650 Launch Report @ Adrian’s Rojak Pot
Tech ARP :: Saturday, March 19, 2005

“ARP was recently invited to the launch of the palmOne Treo 650 smartphone. Our rookie reporter, phr3ak, immediately signed up to the task and checked it out.

The Treo was quite successful when it was still a Handspring. In this report, phr3ak explores if palmOne still have what it takes to keep up with the Treo’s legacy.”

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Logitech MOMO Racing Wheel @ TheTechLounge
The Tech Lounge :: Thursday, March 17, 2005

”

Ok race fans, today is your day – we are having a look at one of the prime pieces of gaming hardware on the market. Racing wheels have almost become a necessity for the majority of realistic driving games. Highly advanced physics models and true to life acceleration, handling and crashes have made it utterly futile to even attempt racing with a keyboard and mouse. A gamepad offers some relief, but for the closest thing to sitting in the driver’s seat a good racing wheel is hard to beat.

Today I have one of the best wheel and pedal sets on the market in front of me. Racecar inspired styling, force feedback and even a fancy Italian name adorn Logitech’s flagship PC/Mac wheel. The MOMO racing wheel truly looks the part. But looks aren’t everything…even if you’re Italian.

”

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Samsung YP-T7 Portable MP3 Player @ eXtreme Hardware
eXtreme Hardware :: Thursday, March 17, 2005

”

Samsung appears to be releasing a variety of new MP3 flash-based portable music devices in the year of 2005. One of the new devices available in the market is called the Samsung YP-T7. Dubbed as the ‘iPod Killer’ by many anti-Apple consumers, it offers a slew of capabilities that Apple has yet to offer in their iPod series. But does the Samsung YP-T7 live up to its name? We’ll find out in this review!

”

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Microsoft Optical Desktop Elite for Bluetooth review @ ModdersHQ
ModdersHQ.net :: Tuesday, March 15, 2005

”

Living in the Detroit area, I have a tendency of making analogies between the automotive industry and the computer hardware/peripherals market. Input/Output devices such as keyboard/mouse combinations are a good example because there is such a wide range of products available at many different levels of performance, features, and cost. Today we are looking at the Escalade of the bunch, the Microsoft Optical Desktop Elite for Bluetooth. It’s loaded to the hilt with bells and whistles plus it features the latest and greatest that technology has to offer.

”

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Steelpad QcK+ Mouse Pad @ Bjorn3D
Bjorn3D :: Saturday, March 12, 2005
“We review all kind of stuff here at Bjorn3D, but I cannot remember us reviewing very many mouse pads before. Let’s admit it, in our quest to improve our computers, a lot of us probably forget about the mouse pad and still use one of the cheap ones that came with the computer or none at all.

If you lift your eyes a bit though, you’ll quickly see that there is a huge market out there, mainly amongst gamers, for mouse pads that allow the gamers to get the best sensitivity possible. Steelpad is a company that has a great reputation for their mouse pads. Their main products are various mouse pads in steel. I’ve tried a few, and they are really cool.

The mouse pad I am reviewing today is however made out of a completely different material. The Steelpad QcK+ is not only a mouse pad made of thin cloth, it is also a huge mouse pad.”

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SanDisk Cruzer, Now with Fingerprint Sensor
Everything USB :: Thursday, March 10, 2005
“Called the Cruzer Profile, the secure flash drive measuring at 60x24x14mm adopts a two-piece tethered design, allowing a convenient finger swipe angle every time. This is in contrast to traditional all-in-one biometric drive, like Lexar JumpDrive TouchGuard. Available in 512MB ($99) and 1GB ($199.99), the Profile reportedly will not require any loading of the security apps on the host computer, avoiding tampering.”

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Microsoft Wireless Intellimouse Explorer 2.0 Review @ GruntvillE.com
GruntvillE :: Wednesday, March 09, 2005

”

Wireless, once a despised and often cursed technology in mice due to its flakiness, has greatly improved over the last few years and is becoming more and more popular as folks look for ways to achieve a “cleaner” desk area. When I first took the plunge into wireless with the purchase of a Logitech MX700, I came away very happy. While the tracking wasn’t quite up to par for fast-paced FPS games such as Unreal Tournament 2003/2004 like its wired brethren, it’s larger size and overall layout was a definite plus in the comfort department. As much as I liked the wireless MX700, I ended up delegating it to desktop use only. When it came time for a few rounds of Unreal Tournament or Call of Duty, I found myself reaching back for my wired IntelliMouse Explorer 3.0.

”

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MS Fingerprint Reader @ ipKonfig
IpKonfig :: Tuesday, March 08, 2005

”

Having security at your fingertips certainly is a concept we have all thought about over the years. That technology was introduced a few years ago, and today it’s possible.

Microsoft and DigitalPersona teamed up to build a device that allows such technology to be possible for consumers abroad. The Fingerprint Reader Password Manager allows consumers to scan in their fingerprints to access websites, and other username and password protected applications.

”

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Logitech diNovo Media Desktop @ AMD Review
AMD Review :: Saturday, March 05, 2005

“The Logitech diNovo Media Desktop is Logitech’s newest keyboard/mouse combo. The diNovo is a wireless keyboard/mouse combo using bluetooth technology. I had a chance to use this keyboard/mouse combo and today I am going to tell you all about the combo and its software suite”

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Steelpad QcK+ Large Gaming Mousepad Review @ Tweaknews.net
Tweaknews :: Wednesday, March 02, 2005

”

Steelpad has definitely designed quite the excellent mouse pad with the QcK+. This pad will definitely remain in use for quite some time on one of the more used computers in this household. Its size has got to be its only real flaw, though only for some people. The QcK+ is a nice, sleek looking pad, which earns it points in my books for not having writing, logos, and advertisements all over the large surface. This is definitely an excellent buy for any gamer or computer artist, and at $19.95 you can’t really go wrong.

”

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Logitech V500 Cordless Notebook Mouse Review @ The Tech Zone
The Tech Zone :: Wednesday, March 02, 2005
”

The Logitech V500 Cordless Notebook Mouse is without a doubt, the sleekest mobile mice I have ever laid eyes on. The stylist, ultra-thin mouse blends uncompromising performance with the ultimate in mobility. Like a high-end sport car, the V500 is loaded with innovations – an expandable chassis, a touch-sensitive solid-state scrolling panel, and 2.4GHz wireless technology – all wrapped up in a sleek design that will turn heads.

”

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Albatron PX925XE Pro-R @ Viperlair
ViperLair :: Friday, April 01, 2005
“The Albatron PX925XE Pro-R is a fine board but not one that a true hardcore enthusiast should aim for; if balls out overclocking is your thing you should look elsewhere. That said, if you have a 200FSB CPU, you can feel safe in the knowledge that the 925XE will allow you headroom up to 266FSB at least, but the same can be said of other 925XE boards.”

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BFG Tech GeForce 6600 GT OC (Solo and SLI) @ Bjorn3D
Bjorn3D :: Friday, April 01, 2005
For the out-of-the-box warrantied overclock, you will have to pay a slight price premium over stock speed 6600 GT’s, but if you want one of the highest performing 6600 GT’s available, then BFG has you covered with its 6600 GT OC. It’s a great card with cool looks and a mediocre bundle. As always, though, I have to emphasize BFG’s lifetime warranty and 24×7 tech support. Those two things are very big selling points to me and offer a lot of comfort you just can’t get from many other companies.

Obviously since the 6600 GT OC offers great performance by itself, it will also provide some of the best performance numbers (if not the best) in SLI mode when you set up a pair of them on your SLI motherboard. If performance and support are your top concerns, then look no further than BFG. The ‘OC’ line continues to offer top performance.

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The Ingredients For A Great Computer Game @ The Tech Zone
The Tech Zone :: Friday, April 01, 2005
There are millions of computer games out there on the market, how do you make your game best selling? What features have to be included? I have taken a look on previously best sellers trying to determine what makes a great game.

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Icemat Siberia Headphones @ Bjorn3D
Bjorn3D :: Thursday, March 31, 2005
With all the talk about surround sound, 5.1 speaker systems and 7.1 speaker systems, it is sometimes easy to forget that in some cases a pair of good headphones is to be preferred or even a necessity. I, for instance, cannot turn up the volume of my 5.1 system too high since I don’t want to disturb the neighbors or my wife. At the same time, I want to be able to experience a good gaming session of World of Warcraft or Doom 3, and we all know that the sound is just as important as graphics.

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HEXUS.beans – ATi’s Cap’n Hook Raids NVIDIA’s Booty
Hexus :: Saturday, March 26, 2005
Select journalists at the CeBIT trade fair in Germany were tittled at the tattle of eyewitness reports of Chris Hook, ATi Technologies’ EMEA PR Manager, seemingly out on a cruise… to recruit senior NVIDIA employees in to ATi. Apparently Chris’ efforts seemingly went unrewarded at that stage, but HEXUS has just learnt that ATi may have just recruited two key NVIDIA people.

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Samsung SyncMaster 920T LCD (review)
IpKonfig :: Thursday, March 24, 2005

Samsung’s latest LCD monitor brings a bit more to the table with its thousand-to-one contrast ratio, and as always, its ease of use. Samsung’s LCD monitors are seen more on the net and on shelves of our popular computer stores everywhere. They always sport quality and appearance like no other, and always have a beautiful picture.

The SynMaster 920T comes equipped with Samsung’s famous MagicTune , and Magic Bright technology. This technology gives a higher edge to its monitors by providing ease of use with high accuracy color.

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Powercolor Theatre 550 Pro TV Tuner Review @ PCstats
PCStats :: Wednesday, March 23, 2005
”

In this review, PCstats will be testing out the Powercolor Theatre 550 Pro TV tuner, which is based on ATI’s Theatre 550 Pro digital audio/video processing chipset. As you might or might not know, this particular chipset is currently the hottest thing in TV-tunerland, due to its support for a number of uncommon features, including 2D and 3D comb filtering. As you might expect, the ATI Theatre 550 chip is also found in ATI’s latest Multimedia products too.

”

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Leadtek WinFast PX6600 GT TDH (Solo and SLI) @ Bjorn3D
Bjorn3D :: Wednesday, March 23, 2005
”

Any geek, regardless of how into gaming he is, can appreciate the simple concept and logic behind NVIDIA’s SLI technology. If you want more gaming power, just add another video card. It doesn’t get any simpler than that, right? You of course have to have the right ingredients — SLI-compatible video cards and an SLI-capable motherboard. I know this is one geek who was excited to get his hands on an SLI motherboard and video cards, preferably 6800 GTs or Ultras of course, but I’m happy to review cards from the 6600 family, especially since the majority of gamers will be looking at this more affordable set of cards. I’m especially looking forward to seeing how a 6600 GT SLI setup compares to a single 6800 GT.

”

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Gigabyte GeForce 6200 with TurboCache 256MB @ hardCOREware
hardCOREware :: Tuesday, March 22, 2005
”

What if I told you that we’re reviewing a 64MB video card that can supports DirectX 9 and Pixel Shader 3.0? Well it’s true! Well, sort of…

Today we’re reviewing the GeForce 6200 with TurboCache from Gigabyte. Although it only has 64MB of memory onboard, it can actually access up to 256MB of system memory via the PCI-E bus. And unlike AGP, the memory is fast going both ways. Find out exactly how well this passively cooled $70 video card performs!

”

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Desktop Graphics Card Comparison Guide Rev. 8.0 @ Adrian’s Rojak Pot
Tech ARP :: Saturday, March 19, 2005

“Covering over 210 desktop graphics cards, this comprehensive comparison allows you to easily compare 14 different specifications for each and every card! If you need to find out about the specification of any card, just come over and check out our Desktop Graphics Comparison Guide!

We hope it will prove to be a useful reference. We will keep this guide updated regularly so do check back for the latest updates!

Here are the updates:-

– Added the ATI Radeon X700 LE and 740 XL cards. – Added the ATI AIW Radeon 9600 and AIW Radeon X800 XT cards. – Added the NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GTO card. – Added the S3 DeltaChrome S8 ULP card. – Corrected the Architecture specifications for ATI Radeon X850 Pro, Radeon X850 XT & Radeon X850 XT PE. – Added the Architecture specifications for S3 DeltaChrome S3, S4, S4 Pro, S8, S8 Nitro, F1 & OmniChrome S4. – Added the Manufacturing Process, Vertex Pipelines & Pixel Pipelines specifications for S3 OmniChrome S4. – Total cards : 217”

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Altec Lansing GT-5051 Speaker Review @ Overclockers Online
Overclockers Online :: Saturday, March 19, 2005
“The GT5051 speakers are a hit and miss affair for gaming, some games sound great, others less so. What is for sure is that 5.1 gaming is a major advancement to gaming and should be utilized as much as possible in the future. However, in most cases you’d be better served by an actual 5.1 setup if space permits. While there is nothing detracting here for the most part, there is too much missing to consider them as a real gamers’ gaming speaker.”

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ATI All-IN-WONDER X600 PRO PCI-E Review @ Tech-Mods.Net
Tech-Mods.net :: Friday, March 18, 2005

“ATI has provided us with all kinds of options when it comes to the visual aspect of computing. We have had the ability to integrate the all well used television and the computer for some time thanks to the AIW products they have to offer. Today we will be taking a closer look at The ATI ALL-IN-WONDER X600 PRO PCI-E. The first and only multimedia video card for the new PCI-Express motherboard architecture that provides full, native 16-lane PCI Express bus interconnect to transfer data between the VPU and CPU in both directions simultaneously. Giving you advanced TV, DVD, FM and audio/video features for home theater and video editing with full personal video recorder PVR capabilities.”

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Samsung SyncMaster 710N LCD Monitor Review @ The Tech Zone
The Tech Zone :: Friday, March 18, 2005
“Once LCD panels with 12ms pixel response times started coming out, LCD based gaming entered the high performance arena. Now you could have a space saving display without any compromise on performance. However, like all high performance hardware, 12ms LCD panels held a high price tag for quite a while. Samsung – and many of their fellow competitors – have broken that barrier as well, and their offerings have been available for a while. We have one such offering on the review bench today.”

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HEXUS.net – AGP 6200s and Tuesday CeBIT Roundup Part 2
Hexus :: Thursday, March 17, 2005
There are a few 6200 AGP boards on show at NVIDIA’s partners, here at CeBit in Halle 24. Inno3D have one up for example, but Point of View’s is a bit different, since it’s not NV44A, rather NV44 and BR2. With its molex feed for power, it’s more than just a basic cheap board for the masses, rather for the tweaker on a budget. It’s one of PoV’s first boards back from production and it’s more a qualification sample than one that’s currently in mass production, but they decided to take it to CeBit and they hinted it might clock a bit.

With 6200 AGP yet to break cover in any real way, the presence of partner boards at CeBit is an indication that they’re pretty close. That it’s not NV44A is something extra.

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ATI TV Wonder Elite Video Review #545:
3dgameman :: Thursday, March 17, 2005

“The ATI TV Wonder Elite is based on the very powerful ATI Theater 550 Pro chip. The large analog tuner of previous generation TV Wonder products is replaced by the small Microtune MT2050 Digital Tuner. This tuner not only is capable of TV but also FM radio. For convenience, the Remote Wonder Plus remote control is included. The only downside to this product is the weak software package, Power Cinema. Watch the Video to find out more…” ~3dGameMan.com

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ATI TV Wonder Elite @ Viperlair
ViperLair :: Thursday, March 17, 2005
“A good quality TV-tuner seems to be hard to find these days. With so many options on the market it is hard to pick a winner as it were. ATI seem to have released a very solid TV-tuner card with the TV Wonder Elite. Video quality was excellent. The high quality comb filters and noise reduction built into the Theater 550 Pro definitely shine in the screenshots.”

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EVGA e-GeForce 6200 TC Video Card Video Review #546
3dgameman :: Thursday, March 17, 2005

“The EVGA e-GeForce 6200 TC Video Card is based on the NVIDIA NV44 Chip and comes with 64MB of DDR memory. The TC stands for TurboCache which essentially means it takes system memory automatically for a total of 256MB. While this is certainly not a product for the hardcore gamer it does play all the latest games. It would be an excellent inexpensive quality product for a HTPC. Watch the Video to find out more…” ~3dGameMan.com

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HIS X850 XT PE IceQ II Dual DVI VIVO 256MB PCIe @ Bjorn3D
Bjorn3D :: Thursday, March 17, 2005
The quest for more speed and more power keeps going on. Not content with letting NVIDIA catch up to its Radeon X800 XT PE series, ATI has launched a series of new PCI-Express (PCIe) based cards. Today, we are reviewing a card from Hightech technology that uses the new speed king chip from ATI, the Radeon X850 XT PE.

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Leadtek WinFast A6600GT (AGP GeForce 6600 GT) @ Bjorn3D
Bjorn3D :: Tuesday, March 15, 2005
”

At a time when a $500 video card is not uncommon, many PC enthusiasts may find it hard to justify the need to spend that amount of money on one piece of hardware. NVIDIA’s 6600 GPU is aimed at users who want some of the best performing hardware without having to sell their first-born to afford it. Leadtek has taken this technology and tossed it into a great package. The WinFast A6600GT TDH offers performance that almost matches that of the next generation’s hardware, at a fraction of the cost.

”

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Icemat Siberia Computer Gaming Headset Review @ Tweaknews.net
Tweaknews :: Tuesday, March 15, 2005

”

In the world of gaming you almost always will annoy people with the repetitive assault gun, the hundreds of grenade explosions or any other combination of weaponry slamming out of your desktop speakers. The desk-mounted microphone will always require yelling, especially when the adrenaline is pumping. This will cause people living with or even next to you to think you are borderline insane and potentially a security hazard.

Thus, Icemat decided to give us a headphone/microphone combo to keep our reputations from getting lower in the real world and to make everyone around us think we are completely normal. *twitch*

”

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ATI All-In-Wonder X800XT Video Card Video Review @ 3dGameMan
3dgameman :: Sunday, March 13, 2005
“This product is based on the ATI R420 chip & has an exhausting list of features. The default core speed is 500MHz & the 256MB of GDDR3 memory is 1,000MHz. Both the core & memory can be easily overclocked resulting in even faster performance. Included are input/output adapters, a remote control, software, & much more. It will knock your socks off! Watch the Video to find out more…”

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BFG VNF4 Ultra Motherboard Review @ AMD Review
AMD Review :: Saturday, March 12, 2005

“BFG Technologies is best known for their Nvidia video cards. They are one of the leading makers of gForce cards. They have recently released their first motherboard offering, the BFG nForce 4 Ultra (VNF4). I had an opportunity to test this board out. In the following paragraphs I will be introducing you to all the features of this new motherboard.”

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NVIDIA SLI @ Beyond3D
Beyond3D :: Thursday, March 10, 2005
“A simple implementation that just splits the rendering across two processors with one rendering an upper portion of the screen and the other rendering the rest is likely to suffer the worst with uneven workloads, and a straight 50/50 distribution is not likely to be the best solution – indeed the Metabyte solution mentioned earlier hard coded an uneven split between the two graphics boards in the system. NVIDIA’s Split Frame Rendering (SFR) mode addresses this issue by altering the number of lines each of the two boards rendering on a per frame basis.”

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Samsung Syncmaster 920T 19″ LCD @ GideonTech.com
GideonTech :: Wednesday, March 09, 2005
”

With numerous companies now offering LCD monitors, you may be faced with a tough time deciding on a brand and model. What size should you get? What about specs? We’ll take a look at the new 19″ offering from Samsung. With a beautifully designed exterior and great performance within, don’t miss this one.

”

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HIS ATI Radeon X800XL IceQII 256 Meg PCI Express Videocard Review @ Tweaknews.net
Tweaknews :: Tuesday, March 08, 2005

”

It looks great, it performs exceptionally well for a performance value solution and it has included cooling not even seen on more expensive x800/850XT alternatives. It didn’t matter what I threw at it, even at the highest quality and 1280×1024 resolution, the card just toyed around with every benchmark and gaming scenario and taunted my to push it some more. ”

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SilverStone LC11 Home Theater PC Case @ Bjorn3D
Bjorn3D :: Friday, March 04, 2005
Acrylic windows, neon and strobe lights, Day-Glo colors, and vaguely alien shapes may be appealing for desktop PC cases, but you probably don’t want a large, showy case as part of your home theater setup, especially if you share your home with a significant other who has significantly more style than you. Additionally, home theater PC’s need to be quiet. Fan and disk noise are easy to overlook if you’re blasting MP3’s while blasting Ant Lions, but white noise isn’t welcome when you’re watching a movie, especially if it’s a quiet passage involving romance (I’m thinking of your significant other again). Purpose-built home theater PC cases are becoming more readily available, and today I look at SilverStone Technology’s LC11 from their LaScala line of home theater PC enclosures.

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ATI TV Wonder Elite Review
Designtechnica :: Thursday, March 03, 2005

“Certification by the Imaging Science Research Labs is what Media Center PC builders have been waiting for, and ATI’s new TV Wonder Elite has it. Using ATI’s new Theater 550 Pro video processor, the TV Wonder Elite promises the best video quality available coming from a traditional analog cable or over-the-air broadcast. With a street price between $150 and $200 dollars respectively, the ATI TV Wonder Elite is compatible with Microsoft’s Media Center Edition 2005 and other media software packages. Add to the mix PVR recording capabilities and a little taste of the multimedia environment and ATI just might have a hit on their hands. But can they can they compete with the likes of Hauppauge and other TV tuner card manufacturers?”

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PowerColor Theater 550Pro TV Tuner Review @ Neoseeker
Neoseeker :: Wednesday, March 02, 2005
”

Straight video recording is equally as impressive. Processor usage is 4-5 times LESS than what is seen with the very similar Leadtek setup. The AOpen XC Cube with the better processor in the P4 3.0 still lags behind significantly and processor usage is 2-4 times higher than that with the Theater 550Pro. For those with slower processors lying around that can be recruited for HTPC or PVR duties, be sure to pair it with a card that does hardware MPEG2 encoding like the Theater 550 as the difference between the cards is phenomenal.

”

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PowerColor Theater 550 Pro @ eXtreme Hardware
eXtreme Hardware :: Wednesday, March 02, 2005

”

As time is becoming more important in our lives, many people just can’t find the time every night to sit on a couch with the rest of the family, and watch their favorite TV show. Suppose you had a project due the next day at work, and the Patriots game was playing that night. You need to see the game, but you also need to make living, right? Well with PowerColor’s Theater 550 Pro, you have a multitude of options available. If you want to record the game, that’s great, and if you want to watch it live while doing your work, no problem there either! Now you’re in control the TV, and the TV is not in control of you.

”

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